Apocalypse
by Silas112
Summary: An innocent adventure? Or a plot to control the world? Join Joe as he travels through multiple realms with familiar faces of the Fire Emblem series. A plot bigger than anything they could imagine unfolds in this five part installment. Please review.
1. Apocalypse

**Apocalypse**

"You wanna take this outside!" Joe screamed. He had gotten himself into another fight.

"Do ya!" He continued to yell. The kid he was yelling at just stood in awe.

"All I wanted to know was if you had a quarter..." The kid said. All of a sudden, a chill went through the air, and the hairs on everyone's necks stood on end. Someone was walking down the hallway, silent as wind. He had long, brown hair that came down to the sides of his neck, a black T-shirt, dark, ripped jeans, and black and white sneakers. He nudged his way through the crowd to Joe.

It was Nate, one of Joe's best friends. "Come on, let's go, this dude ain't worth it" he said, pulling out his and Joe's skateboards. They walked through the hall and out the front doors of the high school. The sunlight highlighted each of their figures. Joe was of a medium build, about 5'10" tall, a gold charm around his neck, with natural purple hair. Nate was a smaller build, about 5'9", a similar gold charm around his neck, and extremely milky pale skin. They jumped on their boards and started towards Nate's house.

The whole way there, they skated in silence, just enjoying the nice day. They reached Nate's house and they stopped in the street out front.

"What kind of mood is your mom in today?" Joe asked.

"She fell out of bed this morning" Nate replied, walking towards the house.

"Um, I'll wait out here" Joe said, taking a step back.

Nate ran inside, and a reign of screaming rung from the house and the sounds of random objects being thrown around. He emerged from the house, plates, glasses, and books being thrown out behind him, with a red bag in his hand jumped on his board.

"Let's go!" and they were off to Joe's house.

"So did you get it?" Joe asked, skating around a hole in the street.

"Yeah! It's so awesome!" Nate said, now rummaging through his bag. He pulled out an old, black tattered book with a red pentacle on the cover. Across the spine, in gold letters it read 'Basics of the Dark Arts of Magick'.

"I've only been able to test a few, simple spells with it, but otherwise it's great!" he said.

"Hey, my board's acting up, let's walk from here." Joe said, getting off his board and picking it up.

"Sure" Nate said, seeing as how they were at the end of Joe's street anyway. As they walked down the street, people stared and walked into their houses as Nate passed.

"I don't think your neighbors like me that much" Nate said as he watched people close their blinds.

"Well, I don' think they've come into contact with anyone that practices dark magick before." Joe explained.

"Oh, well that's true" Nate said. They finally reached Joe's house and walked up the little pathway to the front door. It was a medium sized house, white side paneling and a brown gutter. 2 stories, with one big window on the first floor, and 2 on the second. They opened the door and Nate flopped down on the soft brown couch. There wasn't much to the house, just a TV, 2 chairs, and the couch in the living room. The kitchen consisted of the fridge, the hardwood table with 5 chairs by it, a stove, and the sink.

Joe walked into the kitchen real quick and walked back into the living room and flopped down on the chair by the couch with a piece of paper in his hand.

"Looks like my mom and brother are out for the week or something" Joe said, still reading the note.

"Sweetness! You know what that means, PARTY!" Nate screamed, jumping on the couch.

"I don't know, it doesn't say they'll get back, and you know how my mom feels about social contact." Joe said apprehensively.

"Oh come on, dude. LIVEN UP!" Nate said, playfully smacking him across the face. "I'm gonna call everyone I know and invite them." Nate said, grabbing the phone.

Joe quickly dove forward, and, after a short wrestling match, grabbed the phone from Nate.

"Fine then, if I must." Nate said, pulling a cell phone out of his pocket.

"Fine then, we'll do it" Joe sighed, knowing he was gonna regret it.

"Great!" Nate said, as he started calling people. After about half an hour, he hung up the phone for the last time.

"There. All done. They'll be here in a while" Nate said, putting the phone in his pocket.

"Okay. But we need food and stuff." Joe said, flipping on the TV.

"Leave that to me" Nate said, pointing to himself, "I'll be back in a few" he finished, a wild grin on his face.

"Don't do anything stupid Nate, please?" Joe said, tearing his attention from the TV to look Nate straight in the eyes.

"Who, me? No..." Nate replied, and then was gone.

Joe sat and started thinking, about school, life, and his parents. His father had walked out on him when he was about 5, and they never saw or heard from him again. Nate never knew his father. Shortly after he was born, his dad was killed in a car accident. Joe always thought that it was because of that that made Nate so crazy and rebellious.

About half an hour later, Nate wretched the front door open and slammed it shut, 3 huge bags in his arms.

"Joe! Check out the window! Any cops?" he whispered.

"No, there's no one." Joe said, peering through a blind.

"Good then! Look what I found!" Nate said, dumping soda, chips, dip, games, movies, and other things on the kitchen table from the bags.

"Nate, did you steal this stuff?" Joe asked, staring at him menacingly.

"Mayyyybe." Nate said innocently, looking around the room.

"Nate! I said nothing stupid!" Joe said, putting the soda in the fridge.

"Oh, don't worry about it. Besides, I was out of cash anyway." Nate said, helping to load the fridge. One of the sodas fell out of the fridge and rolled by the stove, and Nate went to get it.

"Hey, what's this?" he asked, reaching behind the stove. He pulled out a long box and walked into the living room where Joe now sat, and dropped it on his lap. Joe winced with pain as it clanged down. He noticed a note on the box and read it.

'These will come in handy soon' it said. "I'm not sure, I don't remember it ever being there before" Joe said, opening the box. From the box, he pulled out 2 beautifully crafted swords, one was royal, sea blue and with a smooth blade, and the other was a deep, crimson red with a jagged blade.

"Whoa! I want the red one!" Nate said, grabbing it from Joe.

"Fine, just be careful with it." Joe said.

"Well, people should be arriving soon, and I've got some stuff to set up, so I'll talk to you again when the party starts." Nate said, taking his bag over into a corner of the room and starting to pull things out.

An hour later, people started to show up. They had more soda, and other things. Joe walked around the house, making sure people didn't destroy anything. He found Nate in a corner, with his magick book open. He had drawn a pentagram on the ground with red paint, and had a blood red candle on every point of the upside-down star.

"Alright, someone kill the music!" He screamed through the house. The music stopped suddenly, and he stood to make an announcement.

"Okay. In case some of you weren't aware of this yet, I started studying Black Magick a few months ago. So, now, for your entertainment, I will now summon, the flame demon, Ifrit." Nate said, as he sat back down.

With the book open in front of him, he began chanting an incantation under his breath. The pentagram began to glow a deep red color. Suddenly, a hole appeared in the space where the pentagram once was. Nate's eyes shot open, and the hole began to grow. People backed away from it as it grew more and more, until it was about 8 feet across.

All of a sudden, a deafening, blood curdling, demonic scream came from the inside of the hole. Then, a flaming claw grabbed onto the edge of the hole, and began pulling itself up.

"Shit" Nate exclaimed to himself. Ifrit, the flame demon, now stood before them. Joe immediately ran to the door and began evacuating people from the house.

"Grab the swords!" he yelled from the door. Nate ran to where the wall and the couch met, and pulled out the swords from where they had hidden them. By this time, Joe had gotten everyone out of the house. Nate threw him his sword, and he caught it like he had been handling swords all his life.

"Ready to kick some flaming ass?" Nate said, standing next to him. Ifrit let out a huge demonic scream, and threw a fireball at them, narrowly missing them as they dove away, and setting the wall behind them on fire.

Nate ran forward to take a swing at him, but the sword simply bounced off of its red, metallic skin.

"Damn, time for plan B" Nate said, just as Ifrit began to take in a giant breath.

"What's plan B?" Joe asked, readying himself for the worst.

"DUCK!" Nate screamed, hitting the floor.

Joe did the same, just as Ifrit released a giant ring of fire, destroying the house. He then dusted himself off, threw one last fireball, and jumped back into the hole. Joe pushed all of the broken plaster and wood boards off of him and stood up, Nate did the same.

"Well this is just lovely, the entire house is in ruin" Joe said, taking in his surroundings. Nate just stood at the brim of the hole, looking down into it.

"I wonder...if I accidentally made a portal to another dimension" he said, still staring down into the hole.

"Well, it's possible, just not very probable" Joe said, joining him.

"Well, I'm going, there's nothing left here for either of us, so if you wanna join me, be at this spot in 20 minutes" Nate said, making his way through the rubble towards the street.

"Wait, what are we going to do, and where are you going?" Joe said quickly, also starting to rummage through.

"Don't worry about it, just stay here, I'll be back." Nate said, and he was gone.

Joe spent the next 20 minutes digging through the remains of his house, looking for anything that may have survived the blast. He had just found the remains of the TV, when he heard sirens coming up the street. He turned and saw Nate, sprinting as fast as he could, with 3 police cars in full roar following him.

"GO GO! Jump into the hole, stupid! GO!" Nate was screaming.

He was carrying some kind of bag in his hand, but Joe didn't have time to wonder what it was, because then the police started shooting at them. Joe immediately ran to the hole and dove, just as Nate did. Everything went dark, and they just fell.

"You brought your bag with you, right!" Joe yelled, trying to make himself heard through the rushing wind.

"Yeah, of course I did." Nate replied, lying on his back as he fell.

"You know, this is kinda cool." Joe said, doing a few flips.

"Yeah, but just wait, I bet it'll get boring after a while" Nate responded, still looking up.

And he was right; after about 2 hours of falling, they began to doze off in the air. They were started awake by a sudden fast blast of wind to their faces.

"How long has it been?" Nate asked, rubbing his eyes.

"About 3 and a half hours" Joe said, checking his watch. "Man, this was fun at first, but now it's just plain ridiculous" Nate complained, swiping at the air aimlessly.

Just as he finished, a faint light caught their eyes. They looked down and saw a minute dot of light below them.

"Um, Nate? How are going to slow down enough to survive when we hit the ground?" Joe asked, looking down, now wide-eyed.

"Good question" Nate replied, now pondering the same thing. The light was growing brighter now, and they could feel a warm breeze blowing up from it. A few seconds later, they passed through the light, which blinded them at first, and they hit something very hard and very solid, and slipped out of reality, into darkness.

Joe became aware of a small source of light some time later. His eyes then shot immediately open, which strained them due to the light. He sat up, and immediately put his hand to his head, where a nice lump was now growing. He looked around, and a little ways away to his right, lay Nate, still dead to the world, also with a big bump on the back of his head. Joe then took a look around at his environment, and gasped.

It looked exactly like their own world, yet warped somehow. They were on the end of what used to be Joe's street, but it was all different. Houses were partly torn down, some were on fire, and some were just empty lots. There were cracks in the ground all over the street, emitting red light and smoke. Trees were burnt and blackened, patches of ground were dead, and the sky, instead of a rich, nice blue, was a deep, burning crimson.

He heard Nate beginning to stir, and began attempting to raise himself from the ground. It was then that he realized that, not only did his head have an enormous bruise on it, but the other side of his head was also bleeding. He ripped some fabric off of the bottom of his shirt and tied it around his head, compressing the wound.

Nate was now sitting up and looking around.

"Wow, nice digs. I wonder how much an apartment would be." he said sarcastically. He stood up, making sure his bag was still slung over his shoulder, and that his sword was still hanging from his belt.

Joe then realized that his sword wasn't on him, but he found it a few moments later, laying a few feet from where he had landed. He sheathed it in his belt and stood up straight, stretching his neck.

"So, now what do we do?" Joe asked, taking another look around.

"You stand right where you are, and don't move." a voice announced from behind them. They turned slowly and saw a woman standing before them, with a sword held at the ready.

"Whoa! Whoa! We don't want no trouble miss." Nate said, holding his hands up.

"Who are you, and why are you here?" She asked, not lowering the sword an inch.

"My name is Joe, and this is Nate. We don't know how we ended up here, we just sorta, I know this is gonna sound crazy, but we fell out of the sky, really." Joe announced, looking up and seeing nothing there but red sky. The woman looked up also, seeing nothing but the sky. She looked back at the two strangers, staring at them mercilessly.

Then, incredulously, she lowered her sword. Nate let out a huge sigh of relief.

"God, I thought we were done for." he announced, patting Joe on the back.

"Follow me" the woman said, sheathing her weapon. They walked a few feet, to a large boulder, sitting in a lot where a house should have been. The woman brought out her sword again, and placed the end in a socket in the boulder. They heard a few beeps, and a door opened from the rock wall, revealing an elevator inside.

"Please step in" she said, sheathing her sword once more and motioning them in.

They walked into the elevator, closely followed by the woman. She pressed a button the wall, and the door closed. Joe then took a moment to study the woman. She was quite beautiful, but also quite peculiar. She looked to be a teenager, around 16 or 17 years old, a small build, about the same height as him, but with deep, forest green hair. Joe didn't really question it much, seeing as how he had purple hair and never understood why.

The elevator stopped with a soft dinging noise, and the door opened. They were now in a medium sized room, filled with computer equipment, monitors, wires, and a lot of beeping. About 5 or 6 other people filled the room, sitting in front of monitors. The woman led them into the room.

"Wait here" she said, and left to go speak with a man with crimson red hair. They spoke for quite a few moments.

"What do you think they'll do with us?" Joe asked Nate.

"I'm not sure, but if it involves working in this place, I really wouldn't mind it." he replied, taking a good look around.

The woman came back over to them, accompanied by the crimson haired man.

"Alright you two, this is Eliwood, Eli for short. He's our leader, and would like to speak with you for a few minutes" she announced, signaling to the man with her. Eli nodded to the woman and turned to Nate and Joe.

"Alright. Now I understand from Lyn here that you two fell out of the sky." he started, raising an eyebrow as he said it.

"Um, yeah, and it wasn't really a pleasant ride either." Joe said, pulling off the crude bandage he made out of the shirt fabric, indicating to the gash on his head.

"Ah, that looks pretty deep. Lyn, would you please tend to him for a second?" Eli asked Lyn. The green haired woman moved forward, pulling out a small spray bottle from the bag on her shoulder. She sprayed the wound and started dabbing it with a cottonball.

"Don't mind me, keep talking." she said as she continued working.

"Alright, so, as for my next question, where is it that you guys came from?" Eli asked, now becoming more comfortable with their guests.

"Well, this world, or rather, one just like this one, only, you know, better." Joe struggled to explain.

"Ah, well, where do you live, if you came from here?" Eli asked, now curious.

"The street we landed on, moron!" Nate said angrily, now losing his temper.

"I see. Well, the thing is, that street is completely abandoned." Eli said, now looking Joe square in the eye. "No one has inhabited that street for over 300 years." he finished. Joe looked like you could knock him over with a shoelace.

"B-but, how's that possible!" Joe said, knocking Lyn back a little as he stepped forward. "You mean to tell me that that portal sent us 300 years into the future?" Joe screamed.

"Well, it would seem so." Eli said, trying not to sound cross. Another man got up from in front of a computer and joined them. This man had white hair with a small tint of pink in it, but looked like a gladiator.

Nate was completely oblivious at this point, and took to staring at the big screen on the wall with moving dots on a map displayed on it.

"Listen, Joe is it? I don't understand how you got here, but I think I do understand why, and we're going to help you get back home." Eli said, trying to calm him down.

"I don't see how you can...wait, how did you know my name? I never told it to you." Joe said, now curious.

"Your names are stated in a prophecy, one that says an end to our suffering will come." Eli said, walking over to a drawer and pulling out a piece of parchment. "It states that the names of the two heroes will be Nathan and Joseph, but I'm guessing that you would just prefer Nate and Joe?" Eli guessed.

"Yes, that's fine" Joe said, now completely dumbstruck.

"Jesus, man, this is like some Final Fantasy crap right here." Nate said, tearing his attention away from the monitor finally. "We end up in some alternate dimension, a big prophecy surfaces that says we'll save the world, friends become enemies, enemies become friends, heroes die, and the world is saved. What's to say that this won't be any different?" he finished, now looking Eli in the eye.

"We only suffer, because the Master wants only one thing, and he is scouring this world, looking for it." the white haired man said.

"Oh yeah, and what would that be?" Nate said, getting offensive.

"You." Eli replied simply, walking back over to a monitor, and typing in some type of code onto the monitor.

"Wait wait wait wait. I just GOT here. What in the hell does this 'master' want with me?" Nate said, now approaching the monitor next to Eli.

"He wants you for you. All of the hatred and guilt you've felt in your life has made you a prime target for his dark purposes. He means to use you as his 'ultimate weapon' to destroy us all." the white haired man said, joining them. Lyn put the first aid supplies away and joined them, accompanied by Joe.

"Marcus is right. The Master's only goal at this point is to find you, and control you." Eli explained, still typing. Suddenly, and large tower appeared on the screen.

"The Master's domain." Lyn said.

"Okay, this is all becoming too much." Joe said, taking a step back, holding his head. "In one day, I've lost my family, my home, my world, and now you tell me that I've gone 300 years into the future into a world where some ultimate power wants my best friend, and wants me dead, and we're the only ones that can stop him?" Joe finished, almost in a full scream. By this time, the last of the people who were at computers had joined them, an average sized man with brown hair, a small built girl with light lavender hair, and another man of similar build with royal blue hair.

"Almost, there's just one thing. It's not both of you that will save the world, just you" Eli said, pointing to Joe. "Nate is mentioned as another big part of the story." Joe took this in silence.

"Oh, and this is Sain, Flora, and Hector" Lyn said, indicating to the e other people.

"Alright, so, now you're going to tell us that this is going to take more than one person, and that we all have to work together to accomplish it or all is lost and all that good stuff?" Nate said, leaning against a wall, with his arms crossed and eyes closed.

"Well, yes, that's about the size of it." Lyn said, taking a step back from the crowd. They all stood in silence for a few moments.

"Well, I think you two should step outside for a little while, we all need to prepare for our journey, and I think you guys should take a few minutes to let all this sink in." Sain said, patting Joe on the shoulder.

"Alright" Joe replied no life in his voice at all.

He and Nate approached the elevator, and Joe pushed the same button Lyn had pushed to get them inside. In a few moments, they were outside in the fresh air again. They both put their backs to the rock and slid to the ground, thinking as they sat there.

"You alright there?" Nate asked, making sure all of his stuff was still there. "Yeah, I'll be fine" Joe said, resting his head against the rock. "So, what is it that you got that made the police chase us in the first place?" Joe asked turning his head slightly so that Nate was in his view.

"Oh, you're gonna love these." Nate replied, rummaging through the red bag now. He pulled out a white plastic shopping bag and zipped up the red bag. From the white bag, he pulled out two beautifully crafted silver handguns and 2 black leather holsters.

"Dude, those are awesome!" Joe said, taking hold of one of them, still not lifting his head.

"Yeah, I figured, what the hell, we're either gonna die, or be placed somewhere completely different anyway, why not take a chance?" Nate said, studying his own pistol. He then handed Joe a holster, and placed his gun on his side. Joe did the same as he stood up.

"Well, I guess this is the beginning of the end for us" Joe said, now leaning on the rock. The door opened as he said this, and all 6 of the people emerged, now fully clad in armor and weapons, and accompanied by a beautiful white horse with wings.

"HOLY CRAP IT'S GOD'S DOG!" Nate yelled, hiding behind Joe.

"Don't be stupid, it's a Pegasus. Flora here is a Pegasus knight" Lyn said, patting Flora on the shoulder.

"Oh, of course! That was my second guess." Nate said reassuringly.

"These are for you two" Lyn said, handing them each a jacket of armor; a blue one for Joe, and a red for Nate.

"Awesome! Now we look like gangsters!" Nate said putting his on.

"Now, you do magick, correct?" Eli asked Nate.

"Yeah, a little bit, why?" Nate responded, looking curiously at Eli.

"Well, the Master knows all here, I'm sure you've heard that saying before. So if you cast a spell, he'll know it. Now I'm sure that small spells won't make much of a difference, but anything big will alert him to our location, and he'll send his Guards to us." Eli explained.

"What's this big-bad master's name?" Nate asked. Lyn walked over to him and whispered something in his ear.

"Apocalypse?" Nate said confused. He was immediately hushed by everyone except Joe.

"Whoa, why?" Nate asked, still dumbfounded.

"Saying the name will draw the Guards to us" Eli said, looking around carefully.

"Ah, so if I were to go, APOCALYPSE!" Nate screamed at the top of his lungs. Sain tackled him to the ground, covered his mouth, and indicated for him to listen.

In the distance, they could hear a soft thudding noise, faintly, but growing slight louder every second. Suddenly, a great boom sounded, and they were suddenly teleported to a great field, green grass, but the sky still red. Behind them, they could see the city smoking off in the distance.

"This is a strange world you guys live in" Nate said, getting up. Then, on the horizon, great hulking, shadowy figures began to appear, one after the other, all around them. They began to advance towards them, a great booming thud thundering with every one of their steps. As they came closer, their features became visible. They were all a towering 6 feet tall, built like tree trunks, and coated in black metal armor. The only hint of life visible from the outside of their armor was the red, glowing eyes that protruded from the shadows of their helmets. Their swords and shields glinted in the red sunlight, as they advanced closer and closer, like a living earthquake.

"What are we going to do?" Lyn asked frantically.

"Look, a break in their defenses, to the east." Eli indicated, pointing to a bare spot in the circle of Guards.

"Well, apparently we have 2 options. Either we stay here to fight it out, or we run." Sain stated obviously. As he finished, one of the guards let out a bellowing roar, and the rest of them began to run, charging straight towards them, spears extended.

"Hm, let's see, what's that word I'm thinking of...Gosh, so hard to remember when the adrenaline is pumping..." Nate said smartly.

"Run?" Joe said, preparing to sprint.

"That's the one! RUN FOR IT!" Nate screamed.

They all made a mad dash for the opening before it closed. As they got closer, the Guards began to close the gap, hoping to box them in. They reach the gap and made it through, but just barely. As they passed through, one of the Guards took a swipe with its spear, and made a small gash on Nate's arm as he ran by.

They ran away, and didn't stop once they made it out of sight, they continued east, and didn't stop until the sun had almost set. Their journey had begun.

By nightfall, they had covered a fair bit of ground, making it out of the city, and into the mountainous region. They decided to set up camp under a huge rock face for the night, and built a fire. They all sat around the fire in silence, everyone simply looking into the flames, except Flora, who was grooming her Pegasus.

"So, how's this going to work? Do I just simply show up in front of Apoc-... I mean, 'the Master', and he just lies down and grovels at my feet and all is saved and I get to go home?" Joe asked, looking at Eli as he spoke.

"I'm not completely sure yet, but I think you will have to kill him. That seems like the most obvious scenario." Eli replied, staring into the flickering light of the fire. Unlike the night sky back home, here the sky was a deep rich purple during the night, which gave a very eerie glow to the surrounding nature below the cliffs.

"That sounds reassuring..." Nate said sarcastically, "Hey! Anyone want dinner?" he said, pulling out a TV dinner from his bag.

"Nate, we don't have a microwave." Joe said, staring blankly at the sky.

"That's alright, microwaves are overrated anyway" he said, and stuck his hand into the fire.

"NO! What are you doing!" Lyn yelled, and pulled his arm back out of the flames. She examined his hand, but there were no marks on it at all.

"I told you I'm not normal. Somehow, my body absorbs heat, like a really big heat vacuum." Nate said, putting his hand in again. The flames and smoke merely danced around his arm and absorbed into his flesh. He pulled out the now sizzling box of food and tore the rest of the burnt cardboard off of it.

"Brisket, anyone?" he asked, offering it to everyone. They just simply stared at him like he was some sort of cyclops.

"Fine then, more for me. I'm gonna take my food and hit the hay. Apparently it'll be a long day tomorrow, am I correct? Goodnight." he said, not waiting for an answer, and strolled over to a flat rock, and laid down on top of it.

"He is quite an extraordinary person, isn't he?" Marcus asked, looking at Joe. "Yeah, ever since we were little. I never really quite understood it, though." Joe explained, still staring at the sky. "So, tell me more about this prophecy. What's the general idea behind it?" Joe asked, tearing his gaze away from the sky to look at Eli.

"Well, in a nutshell, it states that you'll come in our hour of need, a darkness greater than any light will then descend on the world, and 2 powers will emerge from the darkness, one extreme evil, and one of extreme light." Eli explained.

"Okay, well, apparently I'm the extreme light, but then, who would be the extreme evil?" Joe asked, raising an eyebrow.

"We're still not sure," Sain said, breaking in, "It could be any of us, it could even be Nate over there" he said, indicating towards the now snoring Nate.

"I just hope it's not Nate, I have a feeling he has a power that none of us are aware of, not even himself" Lyn said, glancing over at Nate. The rest of the night was quite peaceful. Once the fire had died down to a pile of smoldering embers, they all lied down in different places and fell quickly asleep.

Nate was the first to waken at the coming of the dawn, rolling to his side and nearly falling off the rock. He got up, rubbed his eyes, and then closely examined everything around him. Everyone was still asleep, out like lightbulbs.

He smirked to himself, and sneaked over to his bag. Carefully and quietly, he unzipped the bag, and began searching through it until he found what he was looking for. He pulled out a megaphone from his bag, turned it on, and set the volume on high. He held it over his head, and put his finger by the siren button.

"WAKE UP CALL!" he screamed, then pushed the button for the siren. The scream cut through the morning peace like a shovel in dirt. Everyone immediately shot awake and stood up, unsheathing their weapons. Nate fell to the ground laughing, clutching his stomach in pain.

"What the HELL do you think you're doing!" Joe screamed, sheathing his weapon once more.

"Well, I was the first awake, so I took the liberty of waking you all up." Nate said, standing up and wiping a tear from his eye. He walked over to his bag and put the megaphone back.

"What else do you have in there?" Lyn asked curiously as she gathered up her things.

"Everything except a toilet and the kitchen sink!" Nate replied sarcastically, swinging it over his shoulder once more. After a few minutes and a few choice words, they were off again.

Eli double checked their direction to make sure they were headed east, and after that they were off. They marched all morning, encountering nothing worse than a few hungry wolverines here and there.

"So, you guys are basically a resistance, against mister big baddie guy, right?" Nate asked, staring up at the crimson sky.

"Um, well, yes, basically," Lyn replied, walking next to him, "And I guess we could consider you two our newest members".

"That's awesome." Joe said unenthusiastically. He was walking with his head tilted down, deep in thought, apparently still trying to accept everything that was happening.

The rest of the journey was silent, until they came to a giant clearing, with lush green grass, and a most peculiar sight in the sky. In the center of the field, the red sky met a deep blue sky, and in the middle where they meshed, was a deep ring of purple that ran all along the field and out of sight under each horizon.

"That's beautiful" Flora said, staring at it.

"I'm getting a bad feeling about this place." Lyn said, shivering, "Something bad is going to happen..."

"Don't worry, the Master isn't for miles of here, we have nothing to fear" Hector said, putting a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"Oh sheesh, you guys are pathetic. Look if this _Master _is so 'big and bad', why doesn't he just come out and GET ME!" Nate screamed as he finished.

This time Eli tackled him to the ground, and put his hand over his mouth. Just as all of them dreaded, they heard the familiar thudding from the distance, getting louder and louder, but this time it was more rapid and frequent.

The field they stood before was enormous, but in the distance, they could see shadows coming up from the horizon. This time, however, there were more of them, and some were mounted on white horses, which explained the more frequent booms.

"There's no running this time." Marcus said, pulling out his spear.

"You're right, this time we have to fight, and hope for the best" Eli said, unsheathing his sword, just as everyone else was.

"We must protect Nate at _all costs_, got that?" Lyn announced to everyone. They all nodded in unison. Eli turned to Nate.

"Try to take care of yourself out there. If you feel over powered, call for help, someone will come." he said, looking him straight in the eye.

"Alright." Nate said, and for the first time since he had arrived, everyone knew he was serious.

The Guards continued their advance, slowly across the field, determined to take their target. Then, over the horizon, another figure appeared, a tall, thin figure on a black horse, the Captain, seeing his troops into battle.

"Just a little further" Eli said, watching the Guards. Everyone got ready to charge, holding their weapons at the ready, taking mark. "A little more..." he said again. The thudding broke into a full onslaught of crashes, as the army before them charged.

"NOW!" Eli yelled. They all charged, full force, into unknowing doom. Marcus was the first to reach them, impaling a Guard through his jet black armor, lifting him over his head, and tossing his away, then moved on to the next one. The rest of them approached and began slashing at their foes. Joe's sword was a blue blur against a black shadow, hewing armor apart, parting heads from shoulders, and shattering spears with deafening cracks.

Nate was taking care just fine, taking out Guards three at a time, impaling one, then dragging his sword through the rest of the surrounding enemies. Lyn's combat was most fluent to watch, though. She combined martial combat with her sword, kicking enemies back, parrying blows from spear swipes from behind, impaling the facing opponent, then whipping him around on the sword into the rear opponent, kicking them both off, and then impaling them both with their own spear.

Joe took a quick glance over at Nate, who was so busy with a stubborn opponent from the front, that he didn't notice another one approach from behind.

"Nate! Look out behind you!" he screamed over the clanging of metal on metal and the agonizing screams of pain. Nate turned to look into the face of his opponent just as a spear came through and impaled the Guard through his head. Marcus ran up and grabbed his spear.

"Be more careful!" he scolded as he ran past. Nate saluted him and ran to the next opponent.

When the Guards were dead, they all huddled together, blood-stained and panting.

"That was the easy part; here comes the rest of their infantry." Eli announced.

"The EASY part? How will this be any different from the last wave?" Nate yelled incredulously.

"This time they have archers." Eli said simply, now fully caught up on breath. The thudding began again as another wave of Guards approached from the hillside. The Captain simply looked on, waiting for the opportune moment to make his own advance.

This battle went much like the last one, with most of the Guards focusing on Nate over everyone else. Only this time, Nate had to worry about oncoming arrows this time as well as the opponents slashing at him.

"Lyn! We've got a problem!" Eli yelled, as he took out another Guard.

"What?" she yelled back, also killing a Guard. Eli pointed to an archer aiming up into the sky. Lyn looked up and gasped. Flora was shooting at Guards with her bow and didn't notice the archer aiming for her.

"Flora! Flora! You've got to get out of the sky!" Lyn frantically screamed, trying to get her attention, but it was too late.

She watched in horror as the arrow was released, and was sent straight through the wing of the Pegasus, staining its white fur red. Flora screamed as the Pegasus descended quickly from the sky, and there was a sickening crack as she hit the ground, full force.

Lyn beheaded another Guard and ran towards her, slashing at more Guards as she ran.

"Don't worry about them, they'll be fine" Eli yelled to Joe, noticing his concern. A guard was just about to take Hector's head off, when suddenly, out of nowhere, a fireball flew past, and took the Guard out, sending him smoldering to the ground. He looked over to see a short man clad in red robes with his arm extended, accompanied by a taller, stockier man clad in green armor with a long spear.

"Thanks, I thought I was a goner" Hector said.

"No problem. I'm Erk, and this is Mike, we heard a big commotion and decided to investigate, mind if we join you?" Erk asked.

"Of course! We can use all of the help we can get!" Eli said, impaling another Guard. Just then, the Captain's horse let out an ear shattering neigh, and started racing down the hill.

"Be on your guard!" Marcus yelled, indicating to the Captain, but he was too late. The Captain came down the hill towards Nate, scooped him up, smashed him over the head with the hilt of his sword, and rode off into the distance, and over the horizon.

"No! Get back here! Bring him back!" Joe yelled, racing towards the hill. Eli caught him halfway up.

"Joe, stop. It's over. He's gone." he said, slowing him down. Joe stopped and just simply stared into the distance blankly, hoping beyond hope for a sign, but saw nothing.

The battle ended in the late afternoon, and they piled all of the Guards together in one giant heap. The green grass had been stained red with a huge amount of blood, which reflected the setting sunlight. Lyn was tending to Flora, who suffered nothing more than a broken arm.

"The first thing they teach us is how to land" she said, trying to lift her own spirits up as much as everyone else's.

"Well, even so, I don't think that arm will be of much use to us now. Do you want to go back to the base?" Lyn asked, trying to sound as comforting as possible.

"Yes, I think that would be for the best. The Pegasus heals fast; I should be able to fly there now." Flora said, standing up and petting the Pegasus on the head. She then mounted onto its back, gave one final goodbye, and flew off into the west, back to the base.

Then there were only 8 of them; Joe, Lyn, Eli, Marcus, Sain, Hector, Erk, and Mike. The sun began to set, and they made a fire, deciding to set up camp in the field for the night. Joe sat, staring blankly into the flames, not noticing that Mike was studying him intently.

"Joe? Crazy skater wanna-pick-a-fight Joe?" Mike asked, sounding dumbstruck. Joe looked up at him, looking like he was seeing him for the first time.

"Mike? Is that actually you?" he asked, standing up.

"Yeah, it's good to see you man." he said, also standing up and giving Joe a high-five.

"How did you get here?" Joe asked curiously.

"Same way you did, but I fell in when that big fiery thing came out of the hole." he said.

"Oh, you must have landed somewhere else then. We came out by these guys." Joe said, indicating to the rest of the people.

"He ended up by my village, and I just figured he was another drunk that had lost his way, so I decided to help him" Erk explained, putting his hand on Mike's shoulder.

"Well, this is all good and well, but what are we supposed to do about Nate? Doesn't this mean that the world is basically doomed?" Joe asked, looking around at everyone for a glimmer of hope.

"Not necessarily. The Master will need time to do whatever it is that he wants to do to him. That's why we make haste to his tower." Hector said, staring off into the east. The sun went down over the horizon, and the night sky was split between a purple and black canvas, each dotted with white stars.

The pile of Guards had begun to dissipate, sending little orbs of pink and white light floating to the sky.

"What are those things, Lyn?" Joe asked, lying next to her watching the little light display.

"The essence of their souls, departing to the afterlife." she explained, also taking an interest.

"Is that what happens to everyone?" Joe asked, turning to face her.

"Most of the time, yes. But if something happens to the person's soul, it wanders in nature forever." she said, looking back to the sky. Joe looked up to the sky also, starting to feel drowsy. He turned over onto his side and closed his eyes.

His mind began to race with images of his friend, who he had known before he could even say 'friend'. Soon he was fast asleep, knowing that the nightmares that were soon to come would be much much worse.

They all awoke peacefully the next morning, no megaphone wake up calls or anything like that. They awoke in silence, packed their things and continued walking. It was only when they were far away from the battlefield that Joe became curious.

"What comes after we leave here?" he asked Lyn.

"Well, first we were in the mountain region, this would be the savanna region, so next I believe is a small patch of forest, then the volcanic region, which is where we need to be for our current mission, then the desert region, then another small strip of forest, then we come to the coastal region." she explained.

"Alright. But what do we need to accomplish in the volcanic region?" Joe asked, reaching the top of the hill they were scaling.

"Your training." she said simply. Joe kept walking, but was suddenly in awe.

"Training? I don't remember anything about training!" Joe protested.

"What, you thought we would just simply throw you in front of the Master and tell you to have a good time?" Sain asked.

"Well, no, but- _I don't wanna train!_" Joe complained childishly.

"Well, I'm sorry, but it must be done." Eli said, ending the matter. They marched in silence from there, coming to a point in the grasslands where it met lush forest and foliage.

"This would be the forest region I'm assuming?" Joe asked obviously.

"Yes, it's only a good mile long." Hector answered, hacking through some of the foliage with his sword. They trudged along in the nature for a little while, until they saw something that made them stop.

There was a rope bridge, over a giant hole in the ground, a good 200 feet long, and on either side of the hole, there was a big ravine, running all the way down the side as far as their eyes could see, stopping them from going around.

"Someone plainly wants us to cross this bridge" Marcus said, "Apparently it's a trap".

"Not necessarily, Marcus, don't be so quick to react." Eli said, taking a step onto the bridge. The wooden planks creaked from age, but the bridge held it's own.

"I think it's alright." Eli said, taking another step. Taking his word for it, the rest of them joined him carefully. Lyn was the last onto the bridge, walking behind Joe. He got halfway across the bridge with no problems.

"You doing okay?" he asked Lyn, looking for an excuse to speak.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I've always enjoyed being up high, made me feel, I don't know, powerful somehow." she replied.

"Oh, that's good." Joe said, obviously uncomfortable with the situation.

"Are _you_ alright?" she asked. He turned slightly to look at her while he walked.

"Not really. I'm getting a really weird feeling, like, something bad is gonna happen." he answered, looking around suspiciously. Just as he finished, there was a deep rumbling noise, and a small tremor started, shaking the earth lightly.

"Not MORE of them?" Mike said, putting a hand on his spear.

"No..." Joe said, breathlessly, "It's coming from below." he finished, looking down.

There was a small red dot at the bottom of the hole...and it was _growing._

"It's erupting! Run! NOW!" Joe screamed. They were only halfway across the bridge at that point, meaning another 100 feet to go. They all ran frantically, going as fast as they could without upsetting the bridge and sending them all hurdling into the abyss.

They were about three-quarters of the way there, when the bridge began to slacken, becoming harder and harder to run on. Joe looked back and yelled. A dark figure was standing by the end of the bridge with a knife. One of the ropes was already cut, which explained why the bridge was so slack.

"Hurry! Someone's cutting down the bridge!" Joe screamed. The front of the line reached the end just as the dark figure cut the last rope. Joe watched in horror as the bridge began to fall forward. He got to the end, but Lyn was still on the bridge as it was collapsing. She leapt and made it to the edge, but only by her hands.

She was hanging over the pit, the magma rising further every second. The tremors had become a full earthquake, and they could plainly see the lava flowing upwards now.

Joe grabbed Lyn by the arm and hoisted her out of the hole. Just as her feet came up, the magma erupted like a geyser, shooting up 300 feet into the air.

"Come on! Let's go!" Erk said, hoisting them both to their feet.

They ran as fast as they could, followed by the smoke and crackling of the burning forest behind them. They reached a dry riverbed which marked the border between the forest and the volcanic region. They climbed the side of the riverbed as fast as they could. They turned when they reached the top and watched the magma spill into the bed and flow either way, filling it up.

"Well, I guess that means no turning back..." Hector said. Lyn buried her face in Joe's shoulder.

"I'm sorry, I thought I could make it, I'm so sorry." she said, hugging him. He hugged her, trying to comfort her.

"It's alright, I would have done the same thing." he said. She pulled away and wiped her eyes.

"Okay, now, we need only cross that wall over there and we're in the volcanic region." Eli said, stepping over to the wall. It was about 75 feet tall, with many small footholes and crevices in it, apparently for climbing. He turned to Mike.

"Mike. You look like a fast climber, are you not?" he asked, looking him square in the eye.

"Yeah, actually, I don't like to brag, but I am." he said, rubbing the back of his head nervously.

"Okay then. Joe, the first task in your training, beat Mike to the top of the wall." Eli said simply, looking at Joe.

"Okay, but, how will that-" he started, but Eli interrupted.

"The challenge has already begun, and Mike is about a quarter of the way up now. You'd better start." Eli said, looking up at the wall. Sure enough, Mike was a well ways up already.

"Shoot!" Joe yelled, and jumped onto the wall, beginning to climb. Mike was almost halfway up and he had just started.

He began a steady, quick pace, searching with all his will to find a foothole where he needed it, hoisting himself up, again and again. He was beginning to catch up, the bottom of Mike's shoes were visible now. They were about three quarters of the way up, when Joe fully caught up with Mike. He passed him with only a few feet to go, and hoisted himself up at the top.

"Yes! Aha, I won." Joe said, extremely proud of himself.

"Nice work, now your real training can begin." Eli said, patting him on the back.

"Wait, how did you guys get up here already?" Joe asked, extremely shocked.

"There's a staircase over there. That's your first lesson; always take in every bit of your surroundings before you act." Eli explained, indicating towards a stone staircase Joe hadn't seen when they first arrived. He hit himself in the face and shook his head shamefully.

"Now I feel dumb." he said, walking into the heart of the volcanic region.

When they said 'volcanic', they definitely meant it. There were hundreds of volcanoes everywhere, all billowing smoke and ash, but none seemed to be dangerous.

"And now, young grasshopper, your training begins." Lyn said, approaching him.

For the next week, he was trained in sword combat, hand-to-hand combat, mental endurance, elemental endurance, and spiritual prowess. The main training ground was a circle of land, surrounded by molten lava, and a stone pole in the middle of the lava river, about 25 feet high, just standing there.

Joe was locked in a battle with Marcus, the most battle-hardened warrior in their pack. Every shot Joe delivered with his sword, Marcus deflected with his spear, seemingly effortlessly.

"Don't concentrate on hitting, concentrate on deflecting." Lyn said from the sideline.

"I know! I'm trying!" Joe said, brow furrowed and sweat drenched. He made a hasty swipe to Marcus's head and took off a few hairs.

"Good, keep going." Lyn said, delighted. Marcus made a quick swipe with the back of the spear to Joe's sword, knocking it out of his hands, and then smacked him to the ground, holding the tip of the spear to his throat.

"Almost, you're getting better though." Marcus said, helping him up.

"But not good enough," Eli broke in, stepping forward, "Your form is excellent, and your power is remarkable. It's merely your concentration and defense that we have to work on now".

"I know, I know." Joe said, getting aggravated.

"If you concentrate more on lowering your opponents guard, rather than just simply trying to hit them, you'll be more likely to-" Eli started.

"I KNOW!" Joe screamed. Suddenly, a small ball of light fell from Joe's hand, hit the ground, and disintegrated into nothing, leaving a scorch mark on the grey ground. They all looked at him in awe.

"Joe, I want you to try that again." Lyn said, stepping forward. Eli and Marcus took a few steps back. Joe held out his hand, palm up, closed his eyes, and began to concentrate.

He thought of the frustration he had just experienced, the ferocity he felt fighting the Guards, and how angry he was when Nate was taken. He opened his eyes, and a small ball of white light was sitting in the palm of his hand, about the size of a Ping-Pong ball.

"Now, try to expand it." she said, watching intently. Joe concentrated on nothing but the ball in his hand, telling himself '_make it bigger, grow, expand'._ The ball began to slowly enlarge, until it became the size of an over-inflated basketball.

"Now, throw it at that post over there." she finished, indicating to the stone pole. Joe took aim, wheeled back, and threw it as hard as he could.

It whirled out of his hand, and collided with the pole, sending pebbles and dust everywhere. When the ash cleared, the pole was nothing but a few inches of rock protruding from the river of lava.

"Excellent! With that power, you should be able to defeat anyone we encounter!" Eli said cheerfully.

"Why not test that theory on me..." a cold voice announced from behind them. Joe turned and a chill ran down his spine.

It was Nate, but he was different. His hair was jet black and came down to his shoulders, his eyes were no longer cheerful and light, but dark and gloomy, and they glowed with the ferocity of a forest fire. He wore a black T-shirt under a leather trench coat, with black jeans, and big black boots. His skin was milky white, no trace of color or tanning at all.

"Nate...What happened to you?" Joe asked, almost breathlessly.

"I've woken up. Apocalypse showed me power, REAL power, not like anything these puny maggots could give you." he said coldly, waving an arm at everyone surrounding the area.

"Why have you come here?" Joe asked, putting his hand on the hilt of his sword.

"Why else would I seek you out? To kill you, of course." he answered simply, sneering slightly at the words. Joe unsheathed his sword fully.

"Fine then, come and get it." he said, brandishing the sword forward. Nate kneeled down, and everyone gasped.

Two black feathered wings sprouted from his back, and he took flight, soaring into the air like a giant hawk.

"What's the matter? A little too out of your reach?" Nate taunted. He held a hand face up, charged a ball of red energy, and threw it towards Joe, full force.

Joe jumped sideways, doing an air cartwheel, and dodged it completely. He then pulled out his pistol, took aim, and sent a shot straight through both of Nate's wings.

Nate let out a blood curdling scream of pain, nothing that sounded human-like at all, and began falling to the ground. He did a quick little flip to upright himself, and landed with a huge boom on the ground, leaving a small crater where he was standing.

His wings folded back into his jacket, and he stood upright. His hands started to charge red, and Joe sprinted towards him, sword held over his head. Nate jumped back and did a roundhouse kick, his foot colliding with the side of Joe's head, sending him back a few feet.

"Haven't even broken a sweat yet." Nate said, wiping his hand over his dry forehead. His fingernails were black, shaped like claws.

Joe got up and steadied himself, a small streak of blood running down from his hairline.

"Let's make this interesting..." Nate said evilly. He wheeled back and punched the ground, his fist sinking in like a pillow.

Cracks began to ensue everywhere, quickly filling with lava from the river. Soon, he and Joe were on their own little islands of lava, and everyone else was helpless, except to watch and pray for the best.

"You're not a person anymore, you're a monster" Joe said simply, wiping the blood from his eye.

"And you're a pathetic human bastard" Nate taunted. Joe charged forward, jumped and flipped over the crack of magma separating them, and took a swipe at Nate.

Nate grabbed the sword in mid-air, sent a few punches to Joe's face, and then chucked him away by the sword. Joe landed with a sickening crack on the other little magma island.

'_Focus, Joe, focus..._' he thought to himself, trying to steady himself again. Nate's hands began to glow red again.

"Let's play a little game I like to call, Dodgeball." he said tauntingly. He started throwing his hands forward, sending out little red charges, hurdling towards Joe.

He began deflecting them with his sword, and dodging the other that he couldn't deflect. He started out doing well, but a stray ball flew past and struck him in the shin, send him to the ground in utter pain. Blood began to flow from the new wound.

"Haha, I knew you were no match for me." Nate said, advancing forward. He picked Joe up by his neck, and began punching him all over; blows into his stomach, his face, and his legs. He then took hold of Joe's injured leg, and gave a quick tug down. That was followed by a sickening crack, which echoed all over.

"Stop it! Just stop it!" Lyn screamed from the side. Nate stopped punching him abruptly.

"Yes, I think I will stop. I'll save some for next time." He said. He then threw Joe into a rock, his head smashing into it, knocking him out. Nate flew into the air, his wings fully healed again.

"Let this be a warning to you, Apocalypse WILL come. You all WILL die." he announced, looking at them all. He then flew over to a volcano, and plunged into it, splashing magma around. The earth began to shake, then suddenly, the volcano and all the other one around it began to erupt. Nate flew out from the volcano, magma dripping off of him.

"Ta ta." he said, and flew off.

"Come on! We have to get Joe and get out of here!" Eli said, beginning to gather their things.

"Someone get Nate's bag!" Lyn said as she ran to Joe. They had brought it with them from the battlefield, hoping it might come in handy. Lyn jumped over a crack and knelt down next to Joe. He was bleeding profusely from his head, leg, and abs. She hoisted him up, but he was quite heavy, and she staggered a little.

"Sain! Come help me!" she yelled over the crackling flames and erupting volcanoes. Sain ran over and hoisted up Joe from the other side. They dragged him along through the region, avoiding falling molten ash and rocks.

They came to a bronze gate that led away from the volcanic area, and ran through it. They emerged in a rocky pathway, leading uphill, so they knew that the magma couldn't flow up behind them. They ran for a while, not looking back, until the sun began to set, and they stopped and set up a camp next to a rock wall. They turned back and looked at the billowing smoke. All of a sudden, the entire region exploded, sending ash, rock, magma, and earth everywhere.

Even from a mile away, they could feel the tremor and feel ash and rock falling down on top of them.

"If he can do that to a section of land, imagine what he could do to a human being!" Hector said in awe.

"I don't think I want to find out." Lyn said, sitting down next to the lifeless form of Joe. She was treating his wounds, with him lying down in front of her.

She had bandaged and splinted his leg so it wouldn't move, bandaged his head, and treated all of the minor cuts and burns everywhere else. She then covered him with a blanket, kissed him on the forehead, and lied down to go to sleep.

Straying from their own advice, they chose to sleep in the next morning, awaking at about midday. Mike was the first to awaken, and took the liberty of starting a fire. A bit later, others began to awaken, until only Joe remained asleep. Soon, though, he began to stir, moving his head from side to side slightly as he slipped back into reality.

Slowly, his eyes slid open, and he sat up, immediately putting a hand to the side of his head and one to his leg.

"Ugh…I feel like I was hit by a truck" he exclaimed.

"Close enough" Hector said, kneeling down next to him, "You okay, dude?"

"Yeah, I'm alright, except for my leg" Joe said, taking his hand off his head, but keeping firm pressure on his leg.

"Hey, I've got an idea" Lyn said, running over to Nate's bag. She pulled out the black magick book and began ruffling through pages.

"Aha!" she said, pointing to a spot on a page labeled "Healing for Dummies".

"Here, give me a few minutes and I'll have you good as new" she said, kneeling down. Everyone else flocked over to the fire again, and waited, occasionally taking a look over to see the progress.

"There, all done" she said, standing up. Joe attempted to stand, which resulted in him falling backwards. Lyn held out a hand to help him up, and pulled him to his feet.

Joe tested his leg by stomping his foot into the ground a few times; no pain. He made a small energy ball in his hand, and pressed it to the top of the bandages, burning a piece off at the top. He then ripped the rest off the rest of the way.

He ran towards a large boulder, ran up the side of the rock, and did a quick little backflip, landing perfectly. He smelled a strange scent of ash in the air, turned towards it, and gasped.

Where the volcanic region had been the previous day, there was only a crater filled with lava, forming a gigantic magma lake.

"Who…what …how, did I…where…" he stammered, trying to form words.

"Nate. After he knocked you out cold, we ran you out of there, and he blew the place to smithereens." Erk explained, not taking his gaze away from the campfire. Joe simply stood, staring in shock and thinking.

'_If he can do this to an entire region, what could he do to me?_' he thought. Everyone stayed in silence, letting him take it all in.

"Let's go" he demanded sternly. He walked over to his stuff, picked it up, and began up the trail.

"Wait for us!" Eli yelled to him, dousing the fire. They caught up with him a minute later, not 200 feet from the camp.

They all walked in silence, marching forward continuously. Soon, they came to a bronze gate embedded into the arch of a tunnel entrance, indicating the end of the volcanic region.

"Okay, we don't know what's going to be in here, so everyone be on your toes" Eli said. They all nodded in agreement, and proceeded into the tunnel.

Even from the entrance, they could see the off-white light of the exit, a good 300 yards away. They all walked cautiously, not knowing what would happen while inside the tunnel. Suddenly, there was a loud scream, and a soft thud.

"You alright, Lyn?" Joe asked, helping Lyn back to her feet.

"Yeah, just tripped over something is all" she said, handing him a stone slab, about the size of a piece of paper, and as thick as his thumb. On the surface of it, there were strange carvings on it that he could feel with his hands, but he couldn't see them in the dark. He bagged it and they marched on.

As soon as they reached the end of the tunnel, they were whipped with warm wind and sand.

"Let's keep going guys, this desert isn't that long" Eli yelled over the winds. They trekked through the desert, having to speed up their pace a bit to make up for the slowing that the sand caused. The desert was simply yellow sand, a few cacti, and deep blue sky, which faded into greyish-black clouds the further out they looked.

At last, they came to a big hill of sand that stretched as far as their eyes could see, and was about 35 feet high. Eli was the first to begin climbing the hill; everyone else followed. As reached the top, he teetered for a moment, almost falling back down.

"Guards!" he yelled, unsheathing his sword.

"More of them?" Sain asked, also unsheathing his sword. But as they reached the top of the hill, they could plainly see the army standing before them, and army of about 400.

"Don't they know when to give up?" Hector asked.

"Apparently not. Alright guys, this battle shouldn't take long. We need to get to the beach today. This ends TONIGHT!" he screamed over the winds and the crashing of the approaching army.

They charged down the hill, and right into battle. The fight took little over an hour with Joe's new power. The last guard fell as the sun began to set.

"Just leave the bodies, we need to move" Eli announced, sheathing his sword. They continued on, sweat dripping from their foreheads. Soon, the oasis-like forest came into view, and they were greeted by the shade of the trees.

Eli brought out his sword and began hacking away at the foliage in their way. Joe looked as if he'd eaten a hundred rotten fish.

"What's the matter?" Lyn asked, falling back a little to walk next to him.

"Something is going to happen. I don't know what it is, but, I can sense death in the air" he said, pale-faced and still sweating. She took him by the hand, which was icy cold, and continued forward with him.

The grass of the forest slowly began to turn into the sand of a beach, and the trees began to thin as they emerged on a beautiful beach. White sand stretched north and south as far as the eye could see, and waves rolled up and down the coast as the tide ebbed. The only thing peculiar was the sky, which was grey with clouds, and off in the distance, they could see a hurricane-like cloud formation in the sky; a circle of clouds swarming around one spot, with the middle of the swirl glowing an orangish-yellow color.

"It's a nice sight, isn't it? Too bad you won't be here long enough to enjoy it" a familiar voice announced. They turned to see Nate standing there, leaning on the hilt of his sword, the blade of which was stuck in the ground.

"You're really beginning to grind my gears" Marcus said, readying his spear and advancing.

"Not so hasty, Marcus" Eli said, holding out an arm to restrain him.

"Always the mighty warrior, aren't we, Marcus?" Nate taunted, pulling out his sword, flipping it in his hand and sheathing it. Joe's face began to lighten again as he realized what was happening.

"Now, are we to do this the easy or hard way? Because I'm alright with both" Nate announced, looking at them. No one answered, but they all unsheathed their swords in an alternate response.

"I see. Then I guess the hard way" Nate said, unsheathing his own. At this point, Marcus broke from Eli's grip and ran towards Nate, spear extended.

"Marcus, no!" Joe yelled, but it was too late. Marcus and Nate locked in battle, metal spear shaft to sword blade. They exchanged overpowering blows, knocking each other back with every blow.

"VERY nicely done, sir. I must admit I did not think that you'd be able to affect my fighting" Nate said, bowing slightly.

"Wish I could say the same for you, you devil" Marcus said, making another stroke towards Nate with the head of his spear. Nate deflected it easily.

"Oh come now, that's no way to treat an opponent. I complimented you, now you return the favor" Nate said, making a blow towards Marcus, who also deflected it.

"Burn in Hell" Marcus said coldly.

"Close enough" Nate said.

Marcus made another swipe, foolishly aiming low this time, letting his guard be breached. It was just the mistake Nate was waiting for. He took his sword, and impaled it straight into Marcus' chest, penetrating his armor and sinking straight in. They all stood in shock, seemingly forever, as Marcus fell further and further. He hit the sand with a small thud, and then all was quite, except for the rolling of the waves on the shore.

"He died a warrior's death. Do not be shamed for him" Nate said, taking his sword out of Marcus' now lifeless body. Joe was trembling with anger.

"You're not a person anymore, you're a complete monster" he said, staring him straight in the eyes.

"Why thank you. Too bad I can't say the same for you, you pathetic human" Nate said, bowing slightly again. Joe took a few steps forward, sword extended.

"Ah! So we have another competitor! Well, step forward and prepare for your beating" Nate said, also holding out his sword.

Joe burst forward, clanging his sword into Nate's repeatedly and swiftly, unrelentingly and unforgivingly; blinded with rage. Nate was forced to take many steps back to ensure that his head wasn't taken off.

"I'm impressed. It looks as if you've improved since our last encounter" Nate said, standing at the ready again, "But _nothing _that you can do will prepare you for _me_".

Nate began his own advance, making slower slashes, but overpoweringly strong ones, making Joe's arm buckle a few times under the weight. Joe did a few backflips to make some distance, then starting throwing energy at Nate, rapidly, hoping that even one would hit him.

Nate simply walked forward, holding out his sword to deflect each shot that was sent at him. Nate jumped forward and swiped, narrowly missing Joe's head, parting a few hairs. Joe made more swipes, ringing out with metal on metal. He then quickly made a low swipe, blocked by Nate, but charged a ball the size of a soccer ball, and collided it with Nate's chest.

Nate rang out with a demonic cry of pain, his chest smoking with burnt clothing and flesh. Joe slashed again, now that Nate was helpless to defend, and parted Nate's arm from his body, sending his sword flying a few feet away. Even more shrieks of pain followed, as black liquid flowed from the new wound. Joe then made the final blow, impaling Nate's chest in a similar fashion as Nate had done to Marcus.

Nate slumped forward onto his knees, coughing up black blood.

"You…you mortals have no idea what you're getting yourselves into. You can't kill me. You'll all die, maybe not by my hand, but Apocalypse will finish you" Nate sputtered.

Joe removed his sword from Nate's chest.

"I intend to finish him, just as I will you. Goodbye, Nate" Joe said, and swiped one final time.

Nate's head rolled away, and his body slumped to the ground, staining the sand around it black. Black and red light began to emit from his body, and float away into the sky as the body dissipated into nothing.

They all approached Marcus' body, sheathing their weapons. They laid his body next to a rock nearby, in a sitting position, and laid his spear across his lap.

"The spirits will take his body, we need only now to leave him to rest" Eli said. They turned and left the area in silence, respecting the death of their fallen comrade.

About a quarter mile up the beach, they found a canoe perched on shore. Soon, they had placed it into the water, still not speaking. Eli had volunteered to row, and they were on their way. Joe became curious once again.

"So…we're going straight into the Master's island now?" he asked, trying to make small talk.

"Yes, his island is just ahead, underneath all of those creepy looking clouds up there. Just under the opening is the top of his tower" Lyn explained, staring off into the distance.

Just then, something hit Joe; Nate was gone, forever. His best friend, the only person he had known all of his life, the only person he had ever trusted to say anything to, was dead. Silent tears began to roll down his face, chilled by the ocean air. Lyn noticed this, and hugged him from behind, not letting go. He laid his head back on her shoulder, and fell quickly asleep, lulled by the sounds of the waves against the side of the boat.

He was awoken by a loud clap of thunder that echoed for miles in all directions, like a bullet into a stone wall. The first thing he noticed was a giant tower in front of them, looming hundreds of feet tall. He then noticed Lyn had switched spots in the boat, and was now fast asleep on his lap.

A little while later, they landed on the island, which was simply the tower surrounded by beach, under a swirl of grey and red clouds. They all got out of the boat and stretched out their limbs. According to Eli, they had been in the boat for a few hours.

They approached the tower, which was a black stone tower with no windows, and a giant wooden door. They opened the door and walked into the front lobby, or at least that's what it looked like.

It was an enormous room with no roof or windows, lighted presumably with magic. It had marble floors, black stone walls, and black metal staircase spiraling up the tower, and a wooden desk in the middle of the room, with a lady with bright red hair sitting behind it, poring over some papers on the desk. They approached the desk cautiously, not know what would happen to them here or who could appear.

"Excuse me, we're here to see the Master" Joe said, trying to sound polite but demanding at the same time. The lady looked up and they all gasped.

She had milky white skin and yellow glowing eyes, with two fangs protruding from her mouth.

"Do you have an appointment?" she asked in a cold, airy voice.

"No, but we have some unfinished business to take care of" Joe replied smartly.

"I'm sorry, no one gets in to see Apocalypse without an appointment" she replied, turning her attention back to the papers. Extremely frustrated, he reached out and grabbed the vampire by the throat, lifting her into the air.

"Oh look, I think a slot just opened up" he said, unsheathing his sword, and took her head off, letting her body fall back to the ground. Blue blood dripped onto the desk and began slowly seeping onto the clean white floor. They then made their way to the stairs and looked up.

The stairs went up as far as they could see, and then went into darkness as the light faded. They began the long trek up the stairs, not slowing or stopping for anything. They climbed for a good thirty minutes, and then the top of the stairs came into few, 10 or 20 feet ahead. They could hear the roaring of flames, but thought nothing of it, thinking it was just some torches lit on the wall; but they were wrong.

They all emerged at the top of the staircase only to stand face-to-face with Ifrit once again.

"Not you again!" Joe said, unsheathing his sword. Ifrit let out a bellowing shriek that rattled their heads.

Joe ran forward, striking at the beast, only to have his sword deflect off of its crimson, metallic skin. It let out another shriek and started launching fireballs at them.

"_Malchies lyktus ennui intonaous!_" Joe screamed. A fire-hose powered jet of water launched from the end of his sword, dousing Ifrit's flames.

The demon began to stumble towards the end of the balcony, writhing in pain. Joe ran forward, his sword glowing with energy, and impaled the beast, making it fall the rest of the way down. His sword was stained with bright yellow blood that seemed to radiate heat. He walked over to the wall and wiped it off on a corner, then sheathed it again.

"Let's go" he said, walking towards another giant wooden door.

They opened it and emerged in a giant domed room, completely composed of black stone and marble. At the far end of the room was an obsidian throne, beautifully crafted with runes and jewels embedded into it, and upon the throne, sat Apocalypse.

As he stood, they could see he was quite a few inches taller than Joe, who was the tallest of them all. He stood about 6'5", a slim build with mild muscle here and there, garbed in royal blue robes. His deep blue eyes seemed to pierce them right to the bone. His purple hair was tinted with grey, showing age and wisdom that surpassed them all. They walked forward, all on their guard, knowing that this was the most dangerous being in the entire world.

"Ah, so good of you all to finally reach me" Apocalypse announced, his voice aged, but still strong and demanding.

"Hello, father" Joe announced. They all stared at him in utter disbelief, silent and shocked.

"This…this is your father?" Sain asked, stuttering a little.

"Yes. He walked out on me when I was little. I had no idea this is where I'd find him; master of an entire world, murderer, and demon" Joe said, not taking his eyes off of his father.

"I knew you would figure it out eventually, Joe. You were always a sharp boy. Always a step ahead, but that's because it runs in our bloodline. All of those feelings of death you experienced, the new power you've obtained; they're all apart of something bigger than you could ever imagine, and it's all thanks to your ancestors, _my_ ancestors, the Gods" Apocalypse announced, also not taking his eyes off of Joe.

"I'm nothing like you you bastard. You've killed so many innocent people and I can see in your eyes that you have no remorse for any of their deaths. I'm here to put a stop to you. Your reign ends today" Joe announced. Apocalypse merely chuckled slightly, taking a few steps forward.

"You don't know what kind of power rests in that little head of yours do you? All of that training you've done, the fights you've won, everything you've done is mere child's play compared what you _could_ do, what you _could_ experience. Come with me, Joe, join me, and feel the true power of the Gods and Goddesses" Apocalypse said, holding out a hand.

Joe stood, staring at him in disbelief. He could feel the eyes of everyone in the room on him, judging him, hoping of him. He locked his vision back to Apocalypse, decision in mind.

"No" he replied simply, unsheathing his sword.

"You have no idea of the mistake you're making, foolish boy" Apocalypse said, taking a few more steps forward.

His body began to glow blue, then he started to change. Two more legs grew from his sides, pure white spider-like claws, his other legs turned in the same way, and his fingers elongated and turned black, red claws sprouting from them. His eyes began to glow brightly; a deep shade of blue. Black wings sprouted from his back, and he took flight slightly, hovering a few feet off the ground.

"You see now, Joe? Do you see the power that you could have? Now, you will die" Apocalypse said, his voice now cold and demonic. Suddenly, the doors behind them burst open, and someone walked in, their sword perched on their shoulder.

"Sorry I'm late all, I missed the 10 o'clock bus" Nate said as he walked into the room. He wasn't evil anymore, he was clad in his red armor and all; the same way he was when he had been captured.

Everyone stared in awe as he walked forward and stopped next to Joe.

"Hey dude, miss me?" he asked.

"Yeah, you bet I did" Joe replied, smiling slightly. They exchanged handshakes and prepared for battle.

"There's one thing you have to know, though, Joe" Nate said nervously "The fate of Apocalypse is tied directly to this world; the time and space and all the good stuff. If he dies, so does this world."

"But then…How do we kill him?" Joe asked angrily.

"That's the thing. My life is tied to him, that's my part in the prophecy. I die, he dies. That's your part in the prophecy. You have to kill me." Nate explained.

"No…no, I won't do it! You just came back! I'm not going to kill you! I can't! There has to be another way!" Joe yelled, and he ran towards Apocalypse, sword raised high over his head, ready to strike.

He brought his blade down, and it bounced of an invisible barrier enveloping Apocalypse, making physical attacks useless.

"Joe, just stop. He'll kill you, and then we'll all die." Nate screamed at him, trying to get it into his head.

"NO!" Joe screamed. He sheathed his sword and began charging two big energy balls in his hands. He threw them as hard as he could and Apocalypse and immediately began charging more.

Apocalypse deflected them, sending them up into the ceiling over the rest of the group, causing rubble to fall towards them. They ran out of the way to avoid the falling stone.

"Joe, just end this now!" Nate screamed again.

"NO! NOW HELP ME!" Joe said, and turned to look Nate in the eyes. Nate had never seen that kind of frightened determination in his face before.

"Enough of this. _Die!_" Apocalypse hissed at Joe, and advanced forward. He sent a blow to Joe's face and to his stomach, causing him to double over in pain. He then kicked Joe, sending him flying into a wall.

Nate jumped forward to join the fray, sending fireballs hurdling at Apocalypse. He was then forced back by a ring of bright blue light sent out by Apocalypse, causing him to also fly into a wall.

Apocalypse then began glowing purple, and the room began to shake. Suddenly, the roof of the domed room lifted off the tower, and flew into the air, straight into the eye of the swirling clouds, and disappeared.

Joe got up, mouth bleeding, hair billowing in the strong winds. Rubble had fallen everywhere, and Nate was laying a few feet away, trying to clear his head. He tried to charge some energy, but Apocalypse sent a wave of air at him that knocked him towards the edge of the tower.

"Joe!" Lyn yelled. Joe caught himself on the edge of the tower, and pulled himself back up. Nate was up again and dusting himself off.

"Joe…it's the only way. He'll kill us all if you don't" Nate said, looking desperately into Joe's face.

Joe had changed since they had gotten there; he had matured, and all of the death he'd experienced, the loss, it had all been almost too much. Any more and he wouldn't have made it here. Nate was impressed, but knew what he had to do.

"Joe, do it." he said, holding his arms out to his sides. Joe stood for a moment, as Apocalypse began to advance towards them.

"You'll hold a place for me in Hell, won't you?" Joe said, smirking slightly.

"Only the best for you, my friend." Nate responded, also grinning.

"Goodbye, my good friend." Joe said. He then took out his sword, and, hesitating a second, shoved it into the chest of his friend.

As he did, a red light began to emit from Apocalypse's chest, and he screamed in agony, holding his chest. Nate fell to the ground, and Joe removed his sword. Apocalypse continued to cry in pain, blood leaking from the new glowing wound on his chest. Joe walked forward, lifted his sword up, and plunged it into Apocalypse's back. Apocalypse fell to the ground, and then all was silent, except for the roaring of the winds.

The world began to shake, and all around the globe, grounds began to crack, buildings fell, meteors fell to the earth, and volcanoes erupted, filling the earth with magma. Lava began to engulf the tower, climbing higher and higher, towards the top of the tower.

Joe walked over to Nate's body, and saw, as far as he could see with his naked eyes, magma engulfing the earth, rising higher.

It was over, he had won.

A blue light began to emit from Apocalypse's dead corpse, and it rose into the air. A portal stood open, glowing blue, the center rippling like a water window. Lyn ran over to Joe and took him by the hand.

"Joe, come on! We have to get through the portal before it's too late!" she said, tugging on his arm. He wouldn't budge; he simply stared off into the distance.

The magma was three quarters of the way up the tower now, and they could feel the excruciating heat emitted from below.

"Come on Joe!" she yelled. She gave one final tug, and he began to walk slowly towards the portal. He got about halfway there, and the magma began to breach the top of the tower. He walked into the portal just as the rest of the tower was engulfed.

He was swirling in a blue vortex, and didn't know which way was up or which was down.

He was done, he was going home.

The swirling began to make him sick, so he closed his eyes, wishing for it to stop. He landed on something soft, but dared not open his eyes, not knowing what he would find.

"Joe! Open your eyes, look!" he heard Lyn say somewhere behind him.

Readying himself, he opened his eyes, and gasped.

To Be Continued…


	2. Apocalypse II: Death Returns

**Apocalypse II**

_**Death Returns**_

Joe gasped.

They were all sitting in Joe's room, but had landed in random, and some uncomfortable, positions. Joe landed on his bed, Lyn on the blue carpeted floor, Eli on the oak wood dresser, Hector on the windowsill, Mike on a shelf, Sain on the floor behind the bed, and Erk next to the maple door.

"I thought my house was destroyed, though" Joe said, dumbfounded.

"Everything in your world must have returned to normal as well." Lyn said, standing up and brushing herself off.

"Well, I guess my life goes back to normal now. School, work, things like that." Joe said, putting an arm around Lyn.

"Well, what are we supposed to do? We no longer have a home." Hector asked.

"I'll see if I can pull a couple of strings…" Joe answered.

**6 months later.**

'_Life returned to pretty much normal. Joe and Mike went back to school, accompanied by Lyn, Eli, and Hector, (seeing as how they were each 17). Erk and Sain both went off to college, close to Joe's house, so that they could easily visit if need be. Lyn, Eli, and Hector all moved in with Joe, setting up sleeping arrangements and other such things. Of course, when you're Joe, though, life can never be completely normal…'_

The sun rose on Monday morning, bathing the neighborhood in a rich crimson that burned away the frost and cobwebs of the previous night. The crisp autumn morning was anything but warm, transitioning itself for the upcoming winter season. Joe's alarm clock went off at precisely 6 A.M., buzzing and chirping as loud as a crying infant. Joe, with closed eyes, knocked the clock off the nightstand, picked up a nearby table lamp, and began smashing the alarm clock into the floor until it turned off.

"Joe, you lose more alarm clocks that way than anyone I've ever known." Lyn said, walking into the room, already fully dressed. With his mother's remaining funds, Joe had purchased 3 more beds, one for each person, and moved Eli and Hector in the room with him and Lyn into his mother's old room.

Hector was already downstairs, and by the smell of it, was burning breakfast for them. The red sunlight on the white walls began to fade to a yellowish glare as the sun rose higher into the sky.

"This is the life. No parents, no siblings, living life on my own." Joe said, stretching out on the bed and uncovering himself.

"Yeah, except for school." Lyn said. All of a sudden, the alarm clock began ringing out again, screeching as loud as a car horn. Joe immediately jumped up from the bed, ran to the closet, and took out and old, worn, red bag.

He pulled out a homemade flame-thrower, which was a bottle of engine starter fluid attached to a lighter, and began torching the remains of the alarm clock. The blaring faded and drooped into silence after a few seconds. He then dumped his cup of water that was on the nightstand, onto the ashes to smother them.

"That was freaky…" Joe said, zipping up the bag and throwing it back in the closet. Then, suddenly, Eli shot up, sitting up quickly, shivering like he was having a seizure. His eyes were open so wide that the veins above and under his eyeballs were visible. Then, as suddenly as it had started, it stopped, and he fell backwards on the bed, muscles relaxed once more.

"Eli, what's the matter?" Lyn asked, running over to his bedside.

"N-nothing, just got a bad chill is all..." he said, holding his head and standing up. They walked downstairs, and into the kitchen, greeted by Hector.

"Hey Betty Crocker, what's cookin'?" Joe teased, sliding into the kitchen on the tiles in his socks.

"Breakfast, enjoy." Hector replied, dropping a pancake-sized black rock onto the table.

"Um, Joe, maybe you should cook from now on." Lyn said, picking up the rock, but then dropping it from the heat. It made a dent in the hardwood table where it landed.

"Yeah, I guess so. But I'll just grab an apple and be on my way. I have to get to the school early today." Joe said, picking up an apple and putting it in his pocket.

"Why so early?" Lyn asked, picking up the brick of charred food with a paper towel and disposing of it in the garbage can.

"Tech training. I get to work the curtains and lights and stuff for concerts, plays, musicals and such," Joe explained, idly and hungrily glaring at another apple in the basket on the table. "Good thing is, I get paid. Cha-ching! Ha!" he finished.

"Oh, that's right, I remember you saying something about that before." Lyn said, washing the black residue off of her hands. She walked over to Joe and gave him a kiss before he left.

"Get a room" he heard Eli cough out as he made his way out the door.

It was a bleak sort of morning; mainly overcast with a bit of a chill in the breeze. The sunlight merely peeked out from behind the clouds.

"Perfect day for something to go wrong" Joe said to himself, taking a bite of his apple. He finished it as he reached the end of his street, and tossed the core into a bush nearby. As it disappeared into the depths of the shrub, the bush wiggled.

"What the…" Joe started, staring at the bush. He broke a small branch off of a tree nearby, and poked into the bush with it. Once again, the bush wiggled and vibrated, then stopped. He peered in through a break in the foliage, and gasped. Two great gleaming red eyes stared back at him, hungrily and menacingly. His eyes opened wide, mouth snapped shut, and he dropped the stick as he walked away.

Life had been like this for a while now; alarm clocks turning on again after being destroyed, people waking up in fits of shivers, random things falling off of shelves and breaking, and red eyes staring out of shrubs or dark corners. But they just had to accept it, because of their last adventure, they were different, and they would just have to live with it.

Joe got to the school with only a few minutes to spare. As he approached the door, he saw Mike standing there banging on the door and yelling.

"Hey! Hey! Open the door! I go here!" Mike was screaming as he was pounding on the door.

"Um, Mike?" Joe said, approaching the door.

"Yeah?" Mike responded, panting. Joe reached forward and pulled the door open, indicating to the 'pull' sign on the door.

"Oh, well, never mind" Mike said, apparently embarrassed.

They ran through the hallways and made it with a few seconds to spare. They were both panting by this time.

"Joe?" Mike gasped.

"Yeah?" Joe asked, kneeling over to catch his breath.

"Don't ever…make me run…again…" Mike gasped between breaths, and then fell over. Joe simply shrugged his shoulders and walked off.

A couple minutes later, Mike was up and helping someone carry a heavy plank of wood across the stage, and Joe was up in the rafters attempting to fix a haywire light. He was about 30 feet in the air, standing on a black metal catwalk, suspended by metal coils. Then, suddenly, the eyes appeared again, out of the dark above him. Joe simply stared in complete and utter shock, as a claw formed out of the blackness and began reaching for his throat.

He flicked the switch on on the light; nothing happened. The shadow was advancing, red eyes narrowing, claw drawing closer. Joe hit the light a few times on the side, and it flicked on, showering brilliant white light into every corner. The shadow dissipated in silent shrieks of pain, and was gone.

"Good! You fixed the light!" Mike called from below, "Now you can get me a sandwich!" he said as he walked off laughing.

Afterwards, Joe and Mike walked out together, Joe still silent and white as a ghost.

"You look horrible, man. What's eatin' ya'?" Mike asked.

"N-nothing…I hope…" Joe said, staring straight ahead of him, pupils dilated.

"You hope? Do you know something I don't?" Mike asked suspiciously.

"I'm seeing shadows, man. And not just people shadows but shadow-shadows, with red eyes and bloody claws and they're coming for me and I don't know what to do!" Joe yelled, shaking Mike by his shirt as he spoke.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Chill out. Now, let's try and get through the day first, then we'll see about your 'shadows'" Mike said as he straightened his shirt again. Joe simply nodded and walked away towards his first hour; English.

He took his usual seat; in front of Lyn, behind Eli, and to the left of Hector.

"You alright, man? You're stiff as a board." Eli asked as Joe sat down.

"And your eyes are pretty bloodshot." Lyn added, looking at his face.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. Don't worry about it" Joe said, shaking his head to clear his mind. They each shrugged and took their seats.

English went as it normally did; Eli and Joe did the work in a matter of minutes, and Hector and Lyn simply copied the answers, then they all sat there and talked for the rest of the class period. The bell rang to signal the end of the class.

"One down, seven more to go…" Joe said to himself, getting out of his seat and walking out the door. The rest of the day went pretty smoothly, except during lunch, when Joe could have sworn he heard someone saying his name somewhere behind him, but when he turned, there was no one there. He dismissed it as a figment of his imagination. He simply had to make it through geometry, his last hour of the day, and he'd be home free for another day.

The class went fine, for about a half hour, then Joe began hearing things again.

"_Joe…I see your mind…Come…Die here…_" he heard a voice saying from somewhere. He looked around, but couldn't locate the source of the voice.

"_Die…_" it hissed again. Joe looked up at the chalkboard and gasped.

Another shadow was beginning to protrude from the board, bloody claws bared, eyes glowing menacingly.

"NO!" Joe screamed as he jumped from his seat. But before he even stood up entirely, the chalkboard exploded into flames, igniting the desk, ceiling, and wall around it.

The fire alarms went off and everyone evacuated the school. Joe then saw just how much damage had been done. Apparently, at that moment, every chalkboard in the school had exploded in a mass of flames, igniting every room in the school. Joe met up with Mike, Lyn, Eli, and Hector in front of the school.

"Well, you know what this means, right?" Lyn whispered to them. They all stared at her blankly.

"He's back!" she said softly, making sure no one was listening in on them.

"Who he?" Joe asked, utterly confused.

"You know who I mean…" she responded.

"Apocalypse?" Mike asked.

"No, the other him." she replied.

"But…but he _can't _be back. I killed him! I _know_ I did!" Joe said frantically.

"Well, maybe it's not him. Maybe it's other one, the dark spirit of him" Hector suggested.

"Oh, you mean the one that cusses like a sailor and dresses like something out of a horror movie?" Joe asked.

"Yeah, that's the one" Hector replied.

"Well, I hope not. Who knows what he could do if he was released onto the world…" Eli said, looking up at the sky.

The next morning, Joe had Lyn walk with him to school, hoping that her presence would dissuade any shadows from attacking him. Just as he thought, they got to the school with no encounters, and he started his day fresh. As Joe sat in his English class, he could see just how much damage had been done. The only things left of the chalkboard were the two ends on either side of the wall, and the desk was charred, along with the walls.

His day went by smoothly, no voices or shadows through the whole day. The final bell rang; indicating the end of school, and Joe headed out of the classroom door and walked to his locker.

"Well, I guess yesterday was the worst of it" he said to himself as he closed his locker.

"Joe! JOE!" he heard someone scream from down the hallway. He turned and saw Mike sprinting towards him.

"What do you need?" Joe asked.

"You'll never…guess what…I found" Mike panted, "It's in the…janitor's closet. Come on."

He began dragging Joe through the school, running as fast as he could. They stopped outside the janitor's closet and Joe broke from Mike's grip.

"What is it?" Joe asked angrily. Mike opened the door, and Joe gasped.

It was Nate, but he looked torn to death. There were multiple cuts and bruises on his head, his shirt was almost ripped to shreds and his jeans were cut, there was a bloody scar on his chest, and his eyes were massively bloodshot and cross-eyed. He was sitting up against a wall, patting it and saying "Good wall…nice wall…"

"Nate! Where have you been?" Joe screamed. Nate just continued to pat the wall and chant.

"He's lost his entire memory, doesn't know who he is, where he is, when it is, or why he's here." Mike explained. He stepped forward and cleared his throat.

"Who are you, and what year is it?" Mike asked Nate. Nate turned his head to look at them, and stood up.

"I'm general Gusto Decarr, and it's 1897, of course!" Nate responded in a perfect English accent.

"And, um, who is this?" Mike asked, indicating to Joe.

"Why, that's admiral Dipshit of course." Nate answered. He then put his back to the wall, slid down to the floor, and began beating his head repeatedly into the wall.

"He hasn't lost his memory; he's just lost a lot of blood, giving him mild amnesia. If he had lost his memory, he wouldn't be able to stand or talk." Joe said, staring at Nate. Another bell rang, indicating that the rest of the students still in the building needed to leave.

"Let's get him to Lyn; she'll know what to do." Joe said, taking one of Nate's arms. Mike grabbed his other arm and they hoisted him to his feet.

"Yay! Roller coaster ride!" Nate said as he was dragged out of the closet.

"Shut up" Joe said.

They dragged him through the school and out the front doors, where Lyn was waiting for them.

"Oh my god it's Nate! Where was he?" Lyn exclaimed, running over to them.

"Fox holes of the Indian territory, of course! It's war, soldier!" Nate said, saluting to Lyn and hitting himself in the eye.

"Does he have amnesia?" she asked.

"We think so, but we're not sure how to fix it…" Joe explained. Lyn circled Nate once, examining his cuts and marks. She then stepped back a pace, wheeled back, and hit him in the forehead, causing him to collapse.

"What'd you do that for!" Joe asked frantically.

"Just an idea…" Lyn explained. Nate sat up and shook his head, looking as if he was trying to clear his thoughts.

"Ugh…What happened…" Nate asked, holding his head.

"Nate, is that you?" Joe asked.

"Well, let's see, big bloody scar on my chest, fist-sized lump on my forehead, yeah, it's me." he said, looking at Lyn. She looked away innocently.

"I've got a ton of info for you guys on the dark side. One thing being that they're back!" Nate said, sitting down on the step.

"Well, let's get home first, then you can recap on what's been happening and _where you've been_!" Joe said angrily.

They started out for Joe's house, making the whole trek in silence, no one speaking a word. They reached the house and Nate stood there in awe for a moment.

"I thought we destroyed your house." Nate said, dumbfounded.

"That's what I thought, too." Joe said, opening the door and walking in. Nate ran immediately to the kitchen and flung the refrigerator door open.

"Full fridge of food! Yes!" Nate yelled, grabbing as much food as he could, shoving some down his pants and some up his shirt. He carried it all into the living room and flopped down on the couch and began engorging himself.

"How long has it been since you last ate?" Joe asked, watching the food slowly disappear.

"Um, probably a good week since my last dumpster dine-in." Nate said, still shoving things into his mouth. Joe simply sighed and laid his head back on the couch.

"You do realize that, if you don't eat, you'll die, right?" Joe asked smartly, not lifting his head.

"Mffchauwkwaunick!" Nate muffled through a mouthful of cereal and apple.

About 20 minutes later, all that remained of the food was a lot of crumbs, apple cores, and empty wrappers and boxes.

"Feel better now?" Eli asked sarcastically. Nate let out a long, loud belch in response.

"I'll take that as a yes" Joe said, fanning Nate's breath away from his face.

"Alright, now tell us everything. Past the point after I killed you…" Joe's words trailed off at the end.

"Okay, well, of course, after you killed me, I died, and my soul was taken down to the pits of Hell, cause' I'm a bad bad boy. Well, I had to wander my way around this big flaming place for a long time, trying to find a way home or, basically anywhere at that point. Then Satan talked to me from somewhere; I wasn't sure where it was cause' the voice was everywhere. He said if I came to him and killed him in a fight, then he'd give me my soul back. Well, of course, no one listens to the devil, but it was the only thing I could do. So I made my way through Hell to his sanctuary. When I found him, he immediately started attacking me, throwing fireballs, undead creatures, and the works at me. All I had was my sword and what little magick I could remember, and he had all of Hell at his command. I did pretty well, until _he_ had to show up…" Nate said, a very grim, sickening look now on his face.

"Him who?" Joe asked, now curious.

"Apocalypse. He appeared above us as we were fighting, blasted both of us back, sent my soul back here to earth, and knocking my memory out in the process. You guys fixed that when you found me, though…" Nate said, taking a hard look at Lyn. She blushed and laid her head on Joe's shoulder nervously.

"But, before he sent me back, he had a little conversation with Satan first, and I caught little bits and pieces of it. I'm guessing he tried to erase my memory so I wouldn't remember it." Nate said, rubbing his head, trying to remember the details.

"Well, do you remember any of it?" Hector asked, now greatly enthralled in the story.

"Well, to my knowledge, he and Satan have formulated and alliance and they need 2 very important pieces of power to complete their plans fully." Nate explained mysteriously.

"Well, that's just great…The two strongest powers in the universe have joined together in a conquest of world domination." Joe said sarcastically.

"Almost. There's just one thing stopping them. Satan is bound to Hell by a holy spell that confines him there. But he can break free, with the help of one thing." Nate explained.

"And what would that be?" Joe asked curiously.

"The Life Essence. When fully constructed, it takes the shape of a golden eye." Nate said, "If used, it can call a power to equal the God's, giving one the power to break any spell they're confronted with." he finished.

"Great, so where is this 'Life Essence' at?" Joe asked.

"It is constructed of 2 pieces; the Talisman, and the Namsilat," Nate said, pulling the charm out from under his shirt. It was a small golden circle with the middle blacked out.

"This is the Namsilat." he explained.

"But then that means," Joe started, pulling out his own charm. It was a golden oval with two small chips by each pointed end of it, presumably where the Namsilat would click in place.

"That is the Talisman." Nate finished for him.

"But, I thought that our parents gave these to us when we were born?" Joe asked, confounded.

"They did, because they didn't know what kind of power they held. We were never really normal people, Joe, ever realize that?" Nate asked, raising an eyebrow. Joe sat silently and pondered to himself.

"So basically, we have the fate of the entire world around our necks…" Joe concluded.

"That's about the size of it. If Satan gets his hands on the Life Essence, the most unbelievably horrible and corrupt power will be released onto earth." Nate finished, speaking as if they were discussing it over a cup of tea.

By this time, Lyn had fallen asleep on Joe's lap, Eli had dozed off on the arm of the couch, and Hector had walked into the bathroom.

"Oh, and there's one more, teeny tiny mini thing that I forgot to mention…" Nate said, now sounding nervous.

"What is it…" Joe asked, knowing he was gonna regret the answer.

"You know that dark reincarnation of me?" Nate started, growing more uncomfortable.

"Yes…" Joe answered, also growing more uneasy.

"Well, he's back too." Nate finished.

"What!" Joe screamed in a rage, waking up Lyn and Eli, "How?"

"Well, I guess when you killed him, his spirit was sent here somehow, and he regained a material form using magick of some sort." Nate explained, "And according to my knowledge, he's also formed in with Apocalypse's alliance." he finished, waiting for another of Joe's explosions.

"Oh this is just great. My father, the dark powered reincarnation of you, and jolly old saint Diablo have made an alliance to kill us so that they can get Satan onto earth. We're just in a wonderful position…" Joe babbled, more to himself than anyone in particular. They sat in silence, soaking it all in.

"One of them will probably come tonight to take the Namsilat and Talisman." Nate finished, sitting back in his seat. Again, there was a long, awkward silence.

"So, should I return to my house?" Nate asked, playing with some crumbs on the arm of the couch.

"You could, but no one would be there. Your mom moved away after hearing that you died." Joe explained.

"Ah. Guess that means I'm bunking here tonight!" Nate said, getting up and jumping on the couch.

"It's going to be a long night…" Joe said to himself.

It was a bleak night, no stars shone in the sky, the moon was greatly obscured by clouds, and wind rustled loudly outside in the branches of the tree. Nate lay awake on the couch, thinking of his experience in Hell, of how he died, and how he could once again in a matter of days. The graceful sounds of the wind were broken by a sudden thud and crash from the roof. Nate shot up, and bolted up the stairs to Joe's room.

"Joe! They're here!" he yelled, wrenching open the bedroom door.

"Open the closet door!" Joe commanded, getting up out of the bed and pulling on a pair of pants over his sweat pants. Lyn ran into the room as Nate yanked the closet door open. All of the armor and equipment from their previous journey was in there, all hung and ordered neatly. None of it had been cleaned or polished at all, though.

"Freakin' sweet, dude!" Nate said, pulling out his armor and sword and suiting up. They finished preparing just as the front door downstairs was kicked down.

"They're in!" Hector said.

"Charge!" Eli yelled. They kicked down the bedroom door and headed down the stairs. Nate reached the bottom first and hissed.

"Him…" he whispered. They all filed into the living room, only to be confronted by a familiar face that none of them wanted to see. The dark Nate stood there, staring at each of them menacingly.

"Ah, Joe. Long time, no see. I'm surprised my master didn't dispose of you when he had the chance. Well, no matter, that's ancient history now. As of now, let's get down to business. I want the Namsilat and Talisman in my hand right now, or things will turn ugly." he spoke, holding out his hand, palm up. Joe charged an energy ball and threw it into dark Nate's hand. He caught it, but it burned his hand, so he dropped it and stepped on it.

"We always have to choose the hard way, don't we?" he asked, dusting the ash and burnt skin off of his hand.

"Are you stupid or something? You're outnumbered, and I killed you by myself last time, remember?" Joe taunted, flashing his sword. It still had the black blood streaks on it.

"Ah yes, the hero. See, that was before I visited my good old friend Diablo." the second Nate said, holding up his hand. A fireball was burning in his hand, with the ferocity of a forest fire. His eyes seemed to burn even brighter than they had before.

Nate stepped forward, and held the Namsilat out in front of him. A blue beam shot from the blackened center of the charm, and straight at the other Nate. It struck him full-on, and froze him solid, though the fire in his eyes burned with the same evil passion and ferocity. The Talisman then began glowing from under Joe's shirt, and shot a red beam from under his shirt, directly and the now-frozen Nate. It collided with him, and sent him flying through the roof and into the sky. Now melted, dark Nate extended his wings in air and hovered, a film of fire raging all around him.

"You just wait, I will have those charms. You have no idea of the power you hold. Till next time." he said, and then flew off, leaving an enormous hole in the ceiling.

"I think we're gonna need more help." Joe exclaimed sheathing his sword. The sound of it made his mind cringe with memories.

"Yeah, since Erk and Sain are gone, we need 2 more replacement fighters." Lyn said, sheathing her own sword. The sun was beginning to rise now, bathing the living room in crimson light.

"I have an idea" Nate said, picking up the phone and dialing like crazy.

"Yeah, Jesse? Sorry, it's so early, but we need help. Yeah. Yeah. Yes, well, no. Uh-huh, yeah. Alright. Oh, and by the way, do you know how to use a sword? Great, be over here in a few minutes, okay? Great, bye." Nate said, hanging up the phone.

"He's coming over and bringing his friend's cousin with him, apparently they're really good with a sword." Nate explained. About ten minutes later, there was a rap on the door, and Jesse walked in the house, accompanied by a person a little shorter than Lyn, about the same build, with long brown hair coming out from under the hood they were wearing.

"Alright, we know Jesse is good, but we'll have to test his friend here." Nate said. Jesse was about Nate's height, with a little less of a build and short dirty blonde hair. Jesse's friend lowered their hood to reveal their face. It was a girl.

"Whoa! Dude, you're not a dude!" Nate exclaimed, taking a step back out of shock.

"Watch it Nate, she'll lay a smackdown on you big time." Jesse warned.

"Alright, alright…Joe, give her your sword, this shouldn't last long…" Nate said, laughing as he walked to the other side of the room and unsheathed his sword.

"Now remember, this is a _test_, not a _fight,_ so no injuries." Nate explained, trying to hold back the laughter that was building inside him, but failing horribly.

"Alright" she said, holding her sword at the ready.

"Ready…GO!" Eli said.

In a split second, she forced Nate back, unarmed him, pushed him to the ground, and had the tip of the sword at Nate's throat.

"Whoa…" Joe said simply, open mouthed.

"Told you she was good." Jesse taunted, looking amused.

"Name's Alicia…" she said, helping Nate back to his feet and handing Joe his sword.

"W-where did you learn to fight like that?" Nate asked astonished, sheathing his sword.

"Family issues." Alicia explained simply, taking a seat on the couch. They then spent the next half hour explaining the entire situation to Jesse and Alicia, from the first time Nate and Joe entered the second realm, till the present. Nate sat still, staring blankly at Alicia, open-mouthed, dead-eyed. Joe noticed this and tried to snap him out of it.

"Nate. Nate! Nate you're droolin'! Snap out of it!" Joe yelled, snapping his fingers at Nate. Nate started back as he snapped back to reality and wiped the drool from his mouth.

"Stay with us!" Joe said angrily.

"Well, that's our situation. We've needed 2 more replacement fighters to travel with us. That's why we called you guys." Eli finished. They all sat there in silence for a while, thinking.

"Well, seeing as how we're all skipping school anyway, I've got things to do." Nate said, getting up and stretching his muscles.

"Nathan, _please_ no more stealing people's car keys and taking their 'rides' out for joy rides. You know that your license needs to be renewed now." Joe pleaded.

"Alright, if you say so." Nate said, crossing his fingers in his pockets, giving them one final menacing look, and disappeared out the door.

"I _really_ hope he doesn't do anything stupid…" Joe said, pulling down a blind on the window to peer out at Nate. "Well, this is Nate we're talking about; do you have any doubts that he will?" Eli asked sarcastically. Alicia simply sat on the couch and watched them all discuss.

"ICE CREAM!" they heard someone scream from outside. Joe opened all of the blinds to watch Nate chase an ice-cream truce down the street, climb on the back, climb to the top, and begin banging on the truck screaming 'ICE CREAM!'

Joe put his hands to the sides of his head and began massaging his temples.

"Calm thoughts…Happy thoughts…" he said to himself over and over again.

"Well, what are we gonna do now?" Lyn asked, putting an arm around Joe to calm him down.

"Well, we'll have to find Apocalypse and kill him; we'll have to find the dark Nate and kill him, then destroy the Life Essence so that Diablo stays where he belongs." Hector summed up, sitting down.

"Well, then let's get crackin'! Jesse can use Erk's old armor, and Alicia can use Sain's." Eli said, "Who's gonna call Mike?"

"I will" Joe volunteered, walking over to the phone and dialing Mike's number. A few minutes later, he hung up the phone.

"He'll be here in a few minutes, he's gotta find his stuff first" Joe said, sitting down on the couch. About 10 minutes later, Mike burst in through the front door, loaded down with his armor and bags.

"Do you guys have _any_ idea of how heavy this stuff is?" Mike complained as he dropped his stuff into a pile next to the couch.

"Who's the chick?" he asked, noticing Alicia.

"Watch your wording, Mike. She kicked Nate into tomorrow and she can do the same to you." Jesse warned.

"Speaking of which, where is mister all-bone-and-no-brain?" Mike asked, seeing that Nate wasn't in the room.

"Last time we saw him, he was chasing an ice cream truck down the street." Joe said irritably. Suddenly, there was a loud screech from outside, and a deafening crash, like the sound of metal bending and glass shattering. They opened the front door and looked outside.

The ice-cream truck was mangled around the tree out in front of the house, all 4 tires leaking air, the windshield gone, engine smoking, and radiator leaking. Nate fell out of the driver-side door and rolled onto the ground.

"Nate! Look what you did! What did we tell you before you left?" Joe yelled in an outrage.

"Um…Poop?" Nate answered stupidly. His eyes were crossed and he was swaying on the spot.

"Oh no, not again…" Joe said, covering his eyes.

"What?" Alicia asked curiously. Nate walked a little ways away from the truck and looked up into the tree. A crow was perched up in the tree, cawing at him fiercely.

"CAW!" Nate cawed back at the bird. The crow cawed back at him again, louder this time.

"CAW!" Nate yelled, matching the bird's volume and frequency. The crow then flew down from the tree and perched on his shoulder, and he took a cracker out of his pocket and fed it to the bird.

"He's lost his mind again" Joe said simply. Lyn bent over to pick up a rock.

"No, Lyn, not again. This time it could do mental damage. We'll just have to wait until he comes to." Joe explained.

"You know, the crow on him with the armor would look really cool." Mike stated out-of-the-blue. Everyone just stared at him blankly.

"What?" he asked, confused.

"Well, now how do we get to where we need to be?" Hector asked.

"I have an idea, but it'll take a little while. About, hmm, let's say about 20 minutes." Joe explained. He walked back into the house and pulled a black tattered book from Nate's bag.

Everyone followed him as he walked into the kitchen, and opened a door that they hadn't noticed before, hidden behind a rack of towels, brooms, mops and other items. They walked down a flight of stairs and ended up in a dark basement.

"I didn't know you had a basement." Hector said, taking a look around.

"That's how I wanted it." Joe said. He pulled down a curtain dividing the basement into 2, and revealed an astonishing sight.

Behind the curtain, was a great hole in the ground, about 8 feet in diameter.

"Is that…?" Mike started.

"Yeah. The same hole you, I, and Nate traveled into about 7 months ago." Joe explained. A sudden flash of bloody battle and horrible screams flashed through his mind as he said this. He winced a little, and then turned to everyone else.

"Okay, does everyone have what they need?" Joe asked. Everyone checked and nodded in agreement.

"Mike, where's your spear?" Joe asked, noticing that he didn't have it with him.

"Oh, I couldn't find it, but look what I picked up." Mike said, holding up a beautifully crafted, wooden longbow and a quiver of silver arrows.

"Well, I guess as long as you can use it…" Joe said.

"Yahoo! Diving contest!" Nate yelled, and ran towards the hole.

"NO!" Joe yelled, grabbing Nate by the back of his shirt and flinging him back.

"That portal still leads to the same place it did before. The world that's now covered in magma. If we jump into that hole, our deaths are sealed" Joe explained.

"But then, how do we get to where we need to be?" Lyn asked, trying to hold Nate off from poking her in the forehead.

"Well, that's where Nate's book comes into play. I cast a spell to change the location, and poof, instant transportation." Joe explained, "Only downside is, I don't really know when the spell will activate, so we could be falling for a matter of seconds, or a few hours as we did before." he finished. Nate shook his head lightly, as if trying to think.

"Joe…use the secondary spell…not the, ugh, first…It'll activate…quicker" Nate stammered, trying to formulate words coherently.

"Nate? Are you back?" Joe asked, looking him in the face.

"CAW!" Nate screamed in Joe's face.

"That's a no." Jesse said smartly.

"Alicia, I'm gonna place you in control of Nate. You seem to be the only one able to keep him in check. Alright?" Joe said.

"Okay" Alicia replied, and she began petting the crow on Nate's shoulder. Joe then moved over to the hole and opened the book. Everyone walked over to the wall and sat down, waiting.

They took to watching Nate's impression of a woodpecker on the brick wall.

"Doesn't that hurt him?" Alicia asked, astonished.

"No, he barely feels it." Mike explained, watching with mild interest. A few minutes later, Joe snapped the book shut and placed it back in the bag. By this time, Nate had made a nice crack in the wall.

"Great, another fifty bucks out of my paycheck…" Joe said, shaking his head. Everyone laughed a little at this.

"So, how long will it take before the portal activates?" Jesse asked.

"Well, thanks to Nate here, I'm gonna say an estimate of about a minute. Then we'll instantly be transported to a military outpost somewhere near Moscow." Joe explained.

"Sounds good to me" Hector said.

"Alright, is everyone ready?" Eli asked. They all nodded.

"Okay, let's go" he said, and they all dove into the hole.

Their journey had begun.

Whereas the day was only a few hours spent back home, the day was coming to a close in the small hovel where they all landed. They ended up on a street corner in a small town ordered by Russian military. All of the small cottages in the town looked the same; there were a few barracks here and there for troops, and then a few bigger buildings for other operations. A military guard, clad in black garbs, approached them.

"Halt, who are you, foreigners?" the guard asked.

"We are fighters from America. We've come to speak with the leader of this military outpost. Our business is highly classified" Eli explained officially.

"Alright, please follow me." the guard said.

They walked about a quarter mile through the town, until they reached a great concrete building that they assumed to be the town hall.

"Last door, end of the hallway on the right, hallway all the way to the left. Tell him Merck sent you" the guard said, then walked away to resume his post.

They entered the building, and the warm welcomed them with open arms. The building had bright, wooden walls, white ceilings, and a marble tiled floor. They walked to the left and headed down the first hallway they came to. They reached the end of the hall and looked to the door on their right. Joe knocked softly, and waited for a response.

"Enter", a deep, aged voice answered from within.

They opened the door and emerged in a medium sized office with red carpet, wooden walls, and hanging lights around the room. At the desk in the center of the room, was seated a man who looked like he _had_ been to Hell and didn't enjoy his stay very much. His remaining hair was tinted with white and was thinning. His build was greater for a man his age, but the wrinkles in his skin showed his age. He wore a war general's uniform with many pins and badges upon it. As they walked in, he was pouring over a piece of paper in front of him, scribbling down notes on it. He looked up at them as they entered.

"Please state your names and business." he said, looking up fully from the paper.

"Uh, yeah, I'll have a large number 2 and a diet coke with…" Nate started, but Joe silenced him.

"We are Eliwood, Lyn, Joe, Nate, Hector, Mike, Jesse, and Alicia. We're here to give you information on an upcoming war." Eli explained professionally.

"War? I had no knowledge of a war. We're only here on patrol." the general explained, getting up, "Please explain, mister…"

"Eli, just Eli." he said. So he explained everything to him; about Apocalypse, about Nate's dark reincarnation, and about Satan. The general seemed content about it all.

"So, you're telling me, that his father" he pointed to Joe, "His dark counterpart" he indicated to Nate, "And the devil, are planning to _break_ the devil out of Hell and unleash it onto earth?" the general finished.

"Well, yeah." Joe said, stepping forward.

"Well, even if I did believe this, we don't concern ourselves with religious wars. I'm sorry." the general said, sitting back down.

"It's not religious! Nate's athiest for christ's sake!" Joe yelled.

"Listen here, boy. Don't you try and tell me what wars are acceptable for my troop to fight!" the general yelled back, slamming his fist on the desk as he spoke. All of a sudden, Nate's eyes turned completely red and began glowing. He was lifted off the ground and suspended in mid-air. A cold, deep, demonic voice began spilling from his mouth, chilling them all to the bone.

"Foolish humans, your lives are nothing compared to my power," Satan's voice spilled into their ears from Nate's mouth,

"I will unleash my chaos onto this world, the human race will fall! Demons will spill forth, and the Life Essence WILL BE MINE!" Satan screamed through Nate's body. Nate's eyes then dimmed, and his body fell to the ground with a sickening crack.

"Quick, do you have any rooms available in your barracks?" Eli asked frantically.

"Yes, we do." the general said sternly.

"Good. Alicia, take him down there quickly." Eli said, lifting Nate from the ground. His arm was bleeding profusely from the break that ensued when he fell.

"No problem" Alicia said, and ran him out of the room. The general seemed to be in shock of what was happening.

"Now do you believe us?" Joe asked, stepping forward again.

The general stood there a moment, silently considering.

"Where would you like my troops stationed?"

For the next hour, they worked on battle positions for the general's troops inside the city.

"What if he attacks at the front gate?" the general asked, indicating on a map they had rolled out on a table.

"Don't worry about it; my father is very modest, he'll be sure that anything that happens will start from the west. But you're right; we'll still need reinforcement troops at the north gate just in case something happens." Joe explained. At that moment, Alicia walked back into the room.

"Is he alright?" Mike asked.

"Yeah, a nice gash and a nice break, but they got him all bandaged up and he's resting" she explained, walking over to the table. Another ten minutes passed.

"Well, I think that's about it. Are the people of Moscow willing to help once Hell literally breaks loose?" Eli asked.

"I'm not sure, but I wouldn't count on it. As soon as they see the enemy, they'll probably flee in terror." the general explained.

"But you _do_ have backup reinforcements somewhere, don't you?" Joe asked.

"Of course we do." the general said.

"Okay, then I guess we just need some place to stay." Jesse said.

"I'll rent out a house for you to stay in." the general said, typing in something on the computer.

"Wow, this is a lot different then our last adventure. Firstly, we're in our own world, and, there are computers!" Mike said enthusiastically.

"Here's the address for the house you'll be staying in." the general said, handing a piece of paper to Eli.

"And you may pick up your friend from the barracks on your way there." he finished.

"Thank you very much general…" Lyn started.

"Williams, General Williams." he said, "Dismissed!"

They walked out of the building into the cold winds and pink, setting sun.

"Apparently the people here go to sleep really early." Mike said as they walked down the road. There weren't many people at all on the streets, only patrolling guards and some late stragglers trying to make it back to their houses. They walked down a small dirt road towards the barracks, when all of a sudden, there was a big explosion. They ran down the road to the barracks, and gasped.

There was a huge hole in the wall, still smoking from the devastation. Joe grabbed the nearest guard.

"What happened here!" he demanded. The guard had a Russian accent.

"Big man come, dressed in black with fire in eyes, fly down, throw bright red light at wall, take your friend, and fly away." the guard explained, apparently frightened. Joe let him go and he ran away quickly.

"Damn that evil spirit to Hell…" Eli said, kicking the wall.

"Well, this is an unfortunate turn of events, isn't it?" Jesse said, trying to lift the groups' spirits. They walked further down the road, to the house that they would be staying in.

"This is it." Eli said, looking from the paper to the address on the house. It was an old fashioned white house with no windows, a gray, wooden door, and a gold doorknob.

Inside there was a living room with 2 couches, a television, a kitchen with the normal things; fridge, table, chairs, stove, and sink. There were also 3 bedrooms with 2 beds each, and a bathroom.

"Nice…" Jesse said, flopping down on the couch.

"Okay, here's the deal. Me and Joe will sleep in one room, Alicia, you and Lyn will be in another, and Mike and Jesse will be in the last one." Eli said, "Hector, you don't mind sleeping on the couch do you?" he asked Hector.

Hector walked over to the other couch, flopped down on his back, and rolled back a forth a little.

"Nope, I'll be good here." he said, making himself comfortable.

"Sounds good to me, I'll cook." Lyn said, walking into the kitchen.

"I'll give you a hand." Eli said, following. About 20 minutes later, they had all put their stuff in the designated rooms, and were all doing various activities. Lyn and Eli were preparing dinner, Mike, Jesse and Hector were watching television, Alicia was reading a book, and Joe was lying on the couch on his back, staring at the ceiling, lost in thought.

A little bit later, they all sat down at the table to eat. Joe simply looked at his food as you would look at a mean dog at your front door.

"What's wrong, Joe?" Mike asked curiously.

"The Namsilat…" Joe whispered to himself.

"What was that?" Hector asked.

"The Namsilat! They took him to get the Namsilat!" Joe said, standing up suddenly. Everyone just stared at him.

"It's okay, Joe, he's been taken before, and we know he can handle himself. We'll search for him tomorrow, first thing in the morning." Lyn said, trying to comfort him. He slowly lowered himself back into his chair and looked back down at his plate. They resumed eating, but Joe simply stared at the plate again, not touching a thing. He then pushed his plate away and stood up.

"I will now be excused. Thank you." he said, and walked out of the kitchen and into his bedroom. He dropped down onto the bed, face-first into the pillow, and fell quickly asleep.

Eli walked in a short while later to check on him, and left the door cracked as he exited the room again. Even through his deep sleep, he could hear them talking in the other room.

"…I'm worried that they may be playing some game with his mind, Joe's never acted this way before" Lyn said softly.

"I know, but he can handle himself, no matter what they throw at him, he can take it, and I'll be damned if they ever take him while we're around him," Eli said defiantly, "This is his life, and I'm sure he'll do anything necessary to keep it in _his _control…" Eli finished.

Then there was silence. Eli's words still swam around in his head as he slept.

"His life…anything necessary…control…" The words repeated over and over in his head.

He was back on the tower, facing his father. The white legs clawed towards him, but he was out of reach. The winds whipped at his face, swirling up into the vortex of clouds above. They stared at each other, for eternity it seemed.

"Kill him…" a voice kept saying in his head. He turned his head and saw Nate, laying on the ground a few feet away, his eyes blank, his body lifeless.

"He should have died if Nate's dead…" Joe said to himself. Then, Nate twitched. Horrible, cold screams echoed from his body as he rose from the ground. His skin hardened and turned red. Spikes grew from his back and horns from his head. Joe stared in horror as the hulking figure of Satan himself stood before him.

He shot awake, in a cold sweat, the red eyes still gleaming in his mind.

He laid awake the rest of the night, with only Eli's breathing to keep him company.

They awoke the next morning, fully rested and ready for the day, all except for Joe. He slowly rose from the bed and walked out into the hallway, great bags under his eyes, his face quite pale, yawning.

"Wow, you look beat." Mike said as he entered the front room.

"Eh…" Joe said simply, and walked into the bathroom to change. Once they had all changed and gathered their stuff in the front room, Eli and Lyn had already prepared breakfast, and they all sat down to eat.

Once again, Joe touched nothing, but no one pushed it on him to eat, knowing that he'd eat once he was ready to. Once they had all finished, they gathered up all of their things and supplies, and headed outside. The whipped their faces like needles as they exited the house. General Williams was waiting for them at the front gates.

"You all ready to head out?" he asked them.

"Yes, we believe so." Eli said.

"Alright. I just thought you all might like to know that someone complained of a disturbance early this morning. They mentioned something about noise coming from outside the gates. I don't know if that will help you, but I thought you might like to know." General Williams explained.

"Thank you, General. We'll keep our eyes peeled for anything suspicious." Hector said. Williams then saluted and walked away. The guards opened the gates and they exited the town.

It was snowy grounds as far as they could see. They were in a small valley, surrounded by hills and rocky mountainous areas. As soon as they were outside the gates, they could see what had made the noise that they were told about.

Coming somewhere from the east was a trail of blackened, charred ground that ran all the way to the gate, and then ran up towards the west and out of sight.

"Well I guess it's safe to say what caused the noise" Alicia said sarcastically.

"It was the dark Nate. Only he could char frozen ground to this degree." Lyn said, kneeling down.

"It's still warm, he must have come by later than the general thought." Jesse said, holding a hand towards the ground. They followed the trail to the west, determining that it got warmer as they traveled further west. Trees on the sides of the trail we black and burned, charred to crisps.

"He must have been angry about something." Eli said, examining a tree.

"Maybe he didn't get what he was looking for when he took Nate." Hector suggested, "So he took it out on the surrounding nature."

Joe's eyes got really wide and he stopped walking.

"That's because he didn't have it." Joe said quietly, more to himself than anyone else.

"What? Who didn't have what?" Mike asked.

"Nate, he didn't have the Namsilat with him" Joe said, pondering as he spoke.

"But then, where is it?" Jesse asked curiously. Joe's eyes got even wider as he felt the space beneath his neck.

"Right here" he said, pulling the charm out from under his shirt. He wasn't only holding the Talisman, but the fully constructed Life Essence.

"B-b-but, how could you have it?" Mike asked, staring at it in wonder.

"Nate must have connected the pieces, knowing that he was going to be taken…" Joe said.

'_And that he wouldn't be coming back…'_ a voice said in the back of his head.

"That's why I've been so burdened lately, it's draining my energy and giving me these nightmares." he finished, tucking it back in his shirt.

"What nightmares?" Eli asked, now concerned.

"Nothing, it's nothing.' Joe said, getting defensive.

"No, really, your nightmares might have some connection to that charm, and its origin." Eli said.

"It was nothing. I was back on top of that tower, fighting my dad. Nate was dead, and then he turned into Satan. Then I woke up," Joe explained.

"Then Satan must have forged it" Alicia said, out-of-the-blue. They all looked at her blankly. She simply stared back.

"I think she's right." Joe said, something suddenly coming back to him, like from another lifetime, "Lyn, do you still have that rune slab that you found in the other realm?" he asked.

"Of course I do." she answered.

"Have you decoded it yet?" he asked curiously.

"A long time ago." she responded, taking it out of her bag and handing it to him.

"Read it" Hector said.

"Alright" Joe responded.

'_Death to Life: In the darkest hour, the final struggle of darkness in the battle between good and evil, two charms were imbued with wondrous powers, and a curse. Together, they were endlessly powerful, but infinitely gripping. Apart, they were weak. Satan forged these charms in an attempt to free himself from his fiery prison, to aid his demonic forces to world conquest. The charms were forged, but they were taken from the hand of evil itself, and hidden in the human realm. Future generations shall tremble, once the aid of Satan takes back what was taken from him in the first place. The earth shall tremble, and light shall fail…'_

They all stood in silence for a moment.

"It's a prophecy" Jesse said.

"Of course, and Satan wants to get his hands on that charm so badly, that he'll do anything to get it" Eli said, "Even sacrificing his own kind".

"And that's why he put a curse on it, because he can withstand it, but his minions can't." Hector said.

"Joe is feeling it now, but he has stronger willpower than all of us combine." Lyn said, putting her arm around Joe's shoulder.

"Except maybe me…" a cold voice announced from behind them. They turned and looked into the face of the dark Nate once again.

"Hello, _Nathan_" Joe sneered.

"Call me Hakalahs! Hakalahs! That is my name!" Hakalahs screamed at them, "I was merely created from that inferior being. It doesn't mean that I _am_ him…"

"Where is he?" Joe demanded, stepping forward and placing his hand on the hilt of his sword.

"I'll be the one asking the questions here. Now, why don't you just hand over the Life Essence and I'll be on my way." Hakalahs demanded, holding his black leather gloved hand out. Joe simply threw another energy ball into it, burning Hakalahs' hand.

"Why do they always choose the hard way?" Hakalahs asked to himself, brushing ash from his hand.

"Bring him here, now." Joe demanded again.

"Give me the Life Essence and you can have him." Hakalahs exclaimed, staring Joe in the eyes, fire gleaming behind his pupils.

In a split second, Mike had brought out his bow, strung two arrows, and released them. One missed, but the other lodged itself firmly in Hakalahs' arm. He let out demonic screams of agony as black blood oozed from the new wound.

"This isn't over…" he said, and flew away.

"Nice shooting, Mike." Eli said, patting him on the back. They continued walking, still following the trail of burnt land, and Joe still in an angry, empty slump. As they walked, they passed by an ancient war tower, still fully intact. Joe looked up towards the top of the tower, and something caught his eye. Two gleaming red eyes were staring at him from the top of the tower. He looked down, rubbed his eyes, and looked again, but they were gone, and he saw only moving clouds.

"What is it?" Lyn asked, looking up.

"Nothing, it's nothing." Joe said, and trekked forward. They walked for another half hour, and they reached the hills. They climbed up and over the hill. Mortified at what they were seeing, they gasped.

There was a giant hole in the ground with a translucent pentagram floating above it, glowing red, but that wasn't what was so mortifying. Growing out of the whole was some kind of bloody demonic growth, pulsing and moving as if it was living. A pair of black sneakers sat by the edge of the hole, broken open and charred to a crisp.

"Those are Nate's shoes" Joe said, looking over at them.

"Something has happened to him…" Mike said, looking concerned at the shoes.

"And we have to find him" Joe said, stabbing the growth that was crawling up his leg.

"Why do they keep taking Nate and not Joe?" Jesse asked.

"Because all of the guilt and pent-up rage inside Nate makes him a prime target to be controlled" Lyn explained.

"Where do you think that hole leads?" Alicia asked, looking down into it.

"I've got a guess, I just hope to god that I'm wrong, let's go…" Joe said nervously.

They all jumped into the hole, through the pentagram, and into darkness.

They all hit the ground, and Lyn screamed. Joe looked up quickly, and gasped.

"I was right…" he said breathlessly.

The flames reflected red light off of the stone, jagged walls. Magma eroded away slowly at the clumps of stone in the giant sea of flame.

They were in Hell.

Demonic laughter echoed around them, sending chills down their spines.

"The boy belongs to me now. You're all too late. Bring the charm to me, though, and you may have a chance of getting him back. Whether he's alive or not, well I guess that all depends on how fast you get here…" and the laughter echoed again, until the only audible sound was that of the crackling flames and bubbling magma.

Just then, three demons materialized out of nowhere and attacked them. Joe plunged his sword into the first one, killing it instantly. Alicia made quick work of the second one, sending it back with her sword, then kicking it into the magma. Mike sent an arrow straight through the head of the third one, and it fell to the ground, dead.

"Awesome, guys. Keep your eyes peeled, though. I'm sure this isn't the last of them. Let's go." Joe said, sheathing his sword.

They started up the walkway and began their journey into Hell.

They walked up the staircase, heat blistering them from all sides. They all removed their jackets and tied them around their waists, and Alicia and Lyn put their hair up. When they reached the top of the staircase, they were looking down a long, dark tunnel, the only light in which was coming from then end, and the magma glowing from under the stone floor.

"Be on guard, they could come from any direction" Joe said, unsheathing his sword. As they walked in the tunnel, a noise like howling wind met their ears. All of a sudden, three floating lights appeared towards the end of the tunnel, flying around like fireflies.

"What are they?" Hector whispered.

"Demons" Eli said, unsheathing his sword.

Just then, the lights flew towards them, and they realized, they weren't lights. They were facing three flaming heads, jagged, sharp teeth arranged in a mess in their mouths, pale skinned, floating around in mid air. One of the heads flew at Joe, attempting to bite him. He blocked it with his sword, sending it spiraling away. He tried to swipe at it, but it moved too fast and dodged it.

"Mike! This is your area of expertise!" Joe yelled, deflecting another head away. Mike quickly took out his bow, and sent a silver arrow through each of the heads, sending them hurdling lifelessly to the ground. They all continued on, even more cautious now than before.

Just before they reached the end of the tunnel, they heard a roar of flames from in front of them. They all readied their weapons, just as a hulking Hellknight dropped down at the end of the tunnel. Seven feet tall, built like 3 Arnold Schwarzeneggers, blood covered mouth, and beady eyes inset into it's massive head that sat right on it's shoulders, seeing as how it had no neck. Four inch long claws protruded from its fingertips, bloody and ready to kill.

It let out a defiant, demonic roar and began charging at them, full force. Mike released an arrow into its arm as it ran. It simply pulled out the arrow as it ran, snapped it in half, and threw it aside, still running.

"Oh, shit!" Eli yelled. Lyn was pressed against the wall as the Hellknight approached her. It swung both of its massive fists at her, just as Joe dove through and pushed her out of the way. Its fists sank into the wall of the tunnel like cotton. As it struggled to free its arms from the wall, the entire tunnel began shaking with the effort it was putting forth.

"Run! It's gonna collapse!" Mike yelled. They ran out of the end of the tunnel just as it collapsed on top of the beast.

"Silly bastard, Trix are for kids" Mike said. Just then, the collapsed debris exploded from the end of the tunnel like a gun, sending them all back.

"God dang it!" Eli yelled, getting up. The Hellknight walked out from the end of the tunnel, unscathed, and let out another roar.

"Run…" Eli whispered to them.

"What?" Mike asked, confused.

Then it clicked.

"No, Eli, no you can't do this!" Joe said, taking a step forward.

"I said RUN!" Eli yelled angrily, wheeling around to look at them all. He turned again to face the Hellknight and unsheathed his sword.

"This is for you, Marcus!" he yelled, and charged at the beast. His sword sank straight into its stomach, and it fell to the ground, blood leaking onto the red stone floor. Eli turned to face the others, who remained still.

Just then, the Hellknight's massive hand shot up, grabbed Eli by the waist, hoisting him into the air, and launching him into the wall, breaking his spine.

"These things are ruthless!" Mike yelled. A beam suddenly shot from the Life Essence, blasting the Hellknight backwards, off of the edge and into the molten magma below. Lyn ran over to Eli's body and checked his wrist for a pulse.

"He's still alive!" she yelled, and they all ran over to him. He was spitting up a fair bit of blood, and gave them a sarcastic smirk.

"One down…" he said, and then was gone.

A single tear fell from Lyn's face, onto the stone floor, and evaporated from the heat. Hector walked over, picked up his lifeless body, and laid him next to the tunnel entrance. They stood in shock; silent tears streaming down their faces. Just then, a sinister laugh echoed from all directions.

"Wasting time, are we now? Oh, boo hoo, lost your friend, have we now?" the voice taunted.

"You took him from us! You stupid son of a bitch! You MURDERED HIM!" Joe screamed at the top of his lungs, looking up in all directions.

"You murdered my minion." the voice replied back. Then it faded off in more laughter, then silence once again.

Now only the 6 of them remained. Joe dropped his sword and fell to his knees. Choking tears to his face, he brought his hand to his neck, feeling the accursed metal around his neck.

"I can't take this anymore!" Joe screamed, ripping it off of his neck. He threw it as hard as he could over the edge of the cliff, into the molten magma below. He then picked up his sword and ran off as fast as he could.

"Joe! Joe!" Mike called.

"We have to catch him, before he gets himself killed!" Hector said. They all charged forward, close in Joe's tracks.

"Do you think Satan will be able to get the Life Essence, even though Joe threw it into the lava?" Alicia asked as they ran.

"I'm not sure, but right now, less talking, more running." Lyn said. Waves of demons flocked towards them to block their path, half of them already lay dead, due to Joe. They kept running, going through the Corrupted Cathedral, Plains of Despair, and the City of the Damned, until they cam to the entrance to the River of Flames.

"I think Nate mentioned something about this place" Mike said, kneeling over to catch his breath.

"We just have to charge through" Lyn said. They stepped forward, and stairs appeared in front of them, leading downward. The heat was even more unbearable down here. Light footprints were visible in the blood-red dirt.

"Come on! He went this way!" Alicia yelled. They ran again, running over stone bridges and dirt isles. A bursting magma bubble startled them every now and then, but they kept a straight course. At last, they came to a red, glowing portal. They all readied their weapons, and stepped through.

They appeared in a giant, red domed room, nothing in it but a throne, about 200 feet from the portal itself. The first thing they noticed was Joe, standing about halfway between Satan's throne and the portal. He was screaming at Satan at the top of his lungs.

"You've killed all that I hold dear to myself. You've invaded my dreams, invaded my thoughts and invaded my soul. You've taken 3 of my friends from me." Joe screamed. Nate's unconscious body lay about 50 feet to the right of Satan's throne.

"And you're the one that killed my family, aren't you? AREN'T YOU?" Joe continued to scream. Satan simply sat there and watched, amused. He then stood, his massive tail falling to the ground, making a slight tremor.

"You see, you stupid mortal" Satan spoke, his voice cold and echoing, "There was quite an unfortunate turn of events there. But I will tell you this, yes, your mother is dead. And it is by my hand." he finished, red eyes glaring at Joe. He then burst out in demonic laughter, making them all cringe.

"You think you have me all figured out now, don't you, stupid mortal" he said. He then held up his index claw, and, dangling from it, was the Life Essence. He then waved his arm towards Nate's body, and he shot awake, rolling around in pain, demonic screams and shrieks echoing from his mouth.

"Stop it!" Lyn yelled, stepping forward. Joe chose to ignore the presence of the others. He ran forward and plunged his sword straight into Satan's stomach. He opened his mouth and let out and enormous cry of pain, spitting up blood. Joe took his sword out of Satan's stomach, and shoved it, this time into his forehead. Satan's lifeless body fell to the ground in a giant, bloody heap.

The only sounds now came from Nate's shrieks and screams of pain. His eyes and skin began to turn red. His arms and legs elongated, his skin became hard and scaly, and horns began to grow from his head.

"I get it now, Satan never dies…" Mike said, staring in awe. As Nate stood up, a huge roar let out of his mouth.

"Pitiful humans, you can never kill me!" he roared, holding up the Life Essence again. He waved his hand, and they all disappeared in a flash of blue light, and reappeared outside Joe's house.

"Well, this is just great, right back where we started." Joe screamed, kicking a tree over and over again.

Suddenly, things began to change.

The concrete on the street began to crack and grow darker, the grass in front of people's houses began to grow brown and die, and frightened screams could be heard echoing everywhere. Suddenly, the sky began to change, forming from a deep, rich blue, to a sick, dark green, then finally, to a crimson, blood red.

Then, their worst fear was realized. From all directions, they heard a roar of pure demonic evil, ringing out in all directions.

Though they couldn't see him, they knew he was there, and knew that, now that Satan was unleashed on earth, _nothing_ would be the same from here on out.

**To Be Continued…**


	3. Apocalypse III: Bloodline Armageddon

**Apocalypse III**

_**Bloodline Armageddon**_

_'It has been almost 1 year, (360 days exactly), since Satan was released from Hell, and the earth has been in a downward spiral ever since. As demons poured onto the surface of the earth, whole cities were leveled in a matter of minutes. Under this new threat of demonic infestation, all countries of the world united under a single force in an attempt to contain the problem of corruption. They are able to hold the demons, but pushing them back is a whole different mission. The group, (now adopting the name the Apocalyptic Elect), have grown even stronger since their adventure in Hell, even though their number did decrease that day. Each member of the group has changed in a different way. Lyn's abilities with magick have increased so much that she in invulnerable to almost all types of dark and light magick. Hector's hair, now instead of being short, comes down to around his ears, and his prowess with a sword has benchmarked around Mastery. Mike taught Jesse how to use a bow, and now they both have mastered the use of a sword and bow, and can fire 3 to 4 arrows at once. Alicia, mastering the use of one sword, has now learned to use a longsword and a short sword at the same time, increasing her deadliness with a blade. And Joe, finally tapping the power of his family's Bloodline, has developed psychic abilities to replace his use of magick. He can now perform telepathy (mind reading), telekinesis (moving objects with his mind), and can get visions by touching things with his bare hands. Because of this fact, he now wears black cotton gloves with the fingertips cut off. His purple hair now comes down to the middle of his back and is always in a loose ponytail, and he wears a black leather trench coat. As for his mind, the scars of that day have never left him. The now red sky of the earth is a constant reminder of Eli's sacrifice. Shortly after that day, Joe had his first real vision, seeing a big chapel made of stone and ice, enclosing a shrine with 3 strange keyholes in it. Joe then knew what they had to do; they had to find this place and unlock whatever secret it held for them. Every day after Hell's Day, (as they so appropriately named it), seemed like Hell to them, with a new fight every day. Joe continues searching the demons by summoning his visions out of them, looking for the one vision that will change everything…'_

The clang of metal-on-metal rang out through the air like a stone through glass. The grounds around the ruins of New York City were stained with multicolored blood, as the fierce battle raged clangs and demonic screams echoing off into the red sky. A red demon with massed teeth running on all fours was impaled through the head by a blue, smooth-bladed sword, then immediately fell to the ground.

Joe ran from the dead body of the demon he just killed, and locked himself in battle with another fiend, this one wielding a sword, with a face that a mother couldn't even love. It had glowing red cat-like eyes, and was bald, had no mouth or nose, and two holes in each side of its head for ears. Its pale skin reflected an eerie pinkish under the sky, and dulling off of its black, tattered clothes. The thing may have been ratty and mindless, but it was a darn good fighter.

Joe held out a gloved hand, and the demon froze on the spot. Joe then took the demon's head off, let the body drop, and proceeded to the next one. Lyn was dodging around gracefully, sword sheathed on her back, launching fireballs and lightning bolts at approaching enemies, killing most of them instantly. Hector move fluently through and between demons, killing them with his sword, one after the other as he passed. Mike and Jesse hung back a ways, taking out enemies one by one with arrows, or slashing them down with their swords if they got too close. Alicia hung a ways away from the rest of the group to keep safe, for she fought with her eyes closed, sensing where the demons were, and connecting her short sword into the chest of a demon behind her, then impaling a demon in front of her with the longsword, letting it fall to the ground; dead.

"Guys, let's end this now, move away!" Joe yelled, parting another head from a demon's body. They all ran further away, except for Joe, who was now being swarmed by enemies, due to the lack of other targets.

He made an invisible barrier around himself to hold the demons off for a few seconds. He then knelt down on one knee, and began charging. His body began glowing purple as the barrier began to fade slightly. His eyes shot open and glowed a deep purple as the barrier faded completely. He stood up and threw his hands forward as a giant globe of purple light radiated outward from his body, destroying and obliterating any demons in its path.

When it was all over, only Joe remained, standing in a large crater. Joe climbed out of the crater as the rest of the group surrounded the leader of the demonic force they had just obliterated.

It looked almost human, except that its eyes were glowing red and its skin was jet black. It had a dagger in each hand, steel bladed and black handled, which matched it's ripped, black clothing. It stared at them as they stood with their weapons ready, waiting for Joe to approach. Joe walked forward, his sword perched on his shoulder, staring at the fiend eye-to-eye.

"Why have you come here?" Joe demanded, not breaking his gaze.

"We were ordered to come to this sector and kill any living creature we found", the leader spoke, its voice raspy and growling.

"Ordered by whom?" Joe asked, narrowing his gaze.

"Burn in Hell…" the leader answered angrily. Joe sighed and shook his head slightly.

"Always have to do things the hard way with these ones…" he said to himself. His eyes turned a tint of purple, and he raised a hand.

The demon leader lifted into the air, grasping at its neck, gasping for air. Joe closed his fingers a bit more, causing the leader to cry out in agonizing pain. Joe then suddenly clenched his hand into a fist, and the demon's head exploded, showering Joe in a bit of blood. Joe's face remained stone, and the blood ran down his forehead. The demon's body fell to the ground and lay still. Then all was silent.

"Do it, Joe. This might be the one you've been waiting for." Mike said. Joe stepped forward, towards the demon's lifeless corpse. He took off the glove on his right hand, and placed it on the side of the demon's body. His eyes shut closed as his mind reeled projections before him.

'_There were 7 figures, each silhouetted against roaring flames, each demonic and menacing. Each one was increasingly more powerful than the last, each with their own distinct form and powers. Then one figure rose up behind all of them, garbed in a black trench coat, black hair, flames roaring all around it. Its eyes opened and glowed a bright emerald green.'_

Joe then broke from his vision, coming back to reality.

"What was it?" Hector asked, helping Joe to his feet.

"Even stronger enemies," Joe replied as he put his glove back on, "We're in for a tough ride, guys".

They all walked a short ways away to the vehicle they were using. It was a dark green Jeep-style military vehicle that they had "found" during one of their first battles. Everyone climbed in; Joe started the car, revved the engine once, and then took off on the road, heading towards their base in New Jersey.

The base was located in the basement of the ruined Trenton city hall. Joe drove in complete silence, staring straight ahead, obviously lost in thought. Lyn took notice.

"What's wrong?" she asked curiously.

"Nothing." He replied dully, not breaking his gaze from the road. She didn't believe him, and wouldn't let it go that easily.

"What did you see in your vision?" she asked, taking a more direct approach.

"The front lines of our troubles…" he replied mysteriously. She simply sat back in her seat, utterly confused.

Joe had been like this for a while; brutally killing small demons when unnecessary, speaking in riddles, and sometimes not speaking at all for days. His visions apparently disturbed him to some extent, but he never showed it. He had to stay strong, for himself, for everyone.

They drove on for a few hours, mulling over their last battle in their minds silently. They drove on in silence, when all of a sudden, something cried out in a demonic shriek above, and a giant winged demon flew overhead. It was almost completely a skeleton of a dragon-like creature, except for the skin on its wings.

"Take the wheel." Joe said to Lyn. He then leapt from the car, (it had no roof on it, only a few rollbars), and, almost as if he was flying, soared up and landed on the back of the creature.

He pulled out his sword, and detached the demon's massive tail from its back. The tail fell to the ground with a deafening crash. The winged thing cried out in agony, stopping to hover in air. Joe ran up it's spine to its head, and shoved his sword through the creature's skull.

The car was a little ways away from Joe down the road, who had flown a few hundred feet ahead of it on the demon. The car was still moving towards him as the giant demon fell to the ground. Lyn was now in the driver's seat, so Joe made a leap for the other side of the car. He grabbed the rollbar on the top of the vehicle, flipped himself around, and landed safely in the passenger's seat. He wiped a few droplets of sweat off of his forehead, and continued watching the road.

Lyn drove from there, and they rode a few more hours until they reached the Trenton city border. This city, unlike so many others, still had a few buildings that were intact, including an old grocery store, a few gas stations, a couple of hospitals, and some residential homes. It was for this reason that they set up their base here, underneath the ruined city hall.

They drove for about another 20 minutes, till they finally reached the city hall. The roof of the stone building was just about caved in completely, and a few stone pillars lay around, crumbled and destroyed. They parked the car in front of the building, unloaded, and preceded up the stairs.

The wooden doors fallen off of their hinges, and inside lights were flickering on and off, and sparks occasionally popped from the walls, reflecting yellowish-white light off of the semi-polished marble floor. They turned left immediately as they entered, and walked over to a big wooden door with a black iron doorknob. They opened the door, pouring light down into a set of stone stairs going down into the basement; their current home. As they emerged from the bottom doorway, they were bathed in the soothing yellow light of the living room.

Their base consisted of the living room, a small kitchen, a bathroom, and 3 bedrooms. Lyn and Alicia slept in one room, Mike and Jesse in another, and Joe and Hector in the last. They unloaded their equipment as they walked in, and Joe immediately walked to his room and slammed the door.

Lyn, now furious, stormed over to the door, kicked it open, and slammed it shut again behind her. The door muffled the sound of the screaming, but they could still make out what was being said.

"…There was no need for you to completely obliterate that small demon back there! You know that if you had just held him still long enough, you could have gotten your vision without even having to hurt him!" Lyn screamed.

"What and just let it walk free to kill more people? Do you even remember why we went there? We needed to kill all of the demons in that area. Every, last, one…" Joe screamed back, slamming his fist down on what sounded like a desk as he spoke.

"It's not that you killed him, it's the way that you killed him that frustrates me. You have changed, Joe, and not for the better. You used to hate killing things when you didn't have to, and now you'll blow something up just as soon as look at it. You used to care whether someone in the group got hurt, and you used to be able to cheer everyone up during a long car ride or a long walk. That's that Joe I used to love, now, I don't even know if I know you anymore…" Lyn yelled.

The door then burst open; Lyn stormed out in tears, and went into her room and slammed the door. They saw Joe come to his bedroom door, and close it once more. Then there was silence.

"I think it's over between those two…" Alicia said somberly. The rest of the night was calm. Alicia made some food for everyone, but Lyn and Joe stayed in their rooms. After they finished eating, Hector's cell phone went off in his pocket, and he answered it. He hung up a few minutes later, and placed it once more into his pocket.

"Our next task," he said simply, "We have to be in St. Louis by noon tomorrow, or the whole city is gone." Hector explained.

They stayed up a little bit later, discussing plans for the next day, then all departed to their rooms for sleep. Hector walked into the room and closed the door behind him.

"So, St. Louis, eh?" Joe said, laying face up on his bed.

"You heard?" Hector asked.

"No, you're thinking about it." Joe said, tapping his forehead a few times, reminding Hector of his abilities.

"Ah…" Hector said simply. He then laid down on his bed, and fell quickly asleep.

Joe simply lay awake, his mind being pulled in a million different directions. He stared at the ceiling, searching around the world with his mind silently.

"I know you're out there somewhere," Joe thought to himself, "And I'll find you, my friend." He then rolled over and fell asleep.

Mike woke everyone up well before sunrise, and they all got ready for the trip. Soon, they had all of their supplies gathered, the car refueled, and were off, driving due west. Hector drove this trip, figuring that it'd be safer not to let Joe drive while he was in his current state.

Joe and Lyn sat on opposite sides of the back seat, not speaking. Joe silently tried to crawl into her mind, to see what she was thinking, but Lyn's magick mastery blocked his attempt easily, and he gave up.

"So, is this going to be a full-on invasion, or just a regular fight?" Jesse asked Hector.

"From what I'm gathering, it's going to be big." Hector replied nervously. Suddenly, Joe felt something nagging at his brain. He took his left glove off, and touched his hand to the side of his head, summoning another vision.

'_He stood before a great battlefield, many dead scattered around; lifeless, expressionless. A small group of 6 people stood in the center of it all, gazing over their victory, the burning city behind them lighting the ground. Then, a shadowy figure walked out of the flames, moving slowly towards the unsuspecting warriors. It lifted its arm, and shot what looked like a dagger, straight through the back of one of the warriors. His bow fell from his hand, just as his sword did from the other. Joe watched in horror as Jesse fell slowly to the ground; lifeless, and sorrowfully. The shadowed figure, glowing with power, then walked towards the spectating Joe. As it came closer and closer, Joe could see that it was a red skinned, humanoid-like demon, with glowing orange eyes, and a hole in its right palm, presumably for shooting knives from. It reached Joe, but Joe didn't budge, not thinking it could hurt him, since it was only a vision. It then pulled a dagger out of its palm and slashed towards Joe. He moved back slightly, but the end of the blade still razed his forehead, leaving a small cut.'_

He jerked awake from his vision and put his glove back on his hand.

"What happened?" Mike asked.

"Nothing, just thinking." Joe said. Lyn turned to look at him.

"Joe, you're bleeding! What happened?" she asked, pulling out a small cloth and dabbing his forehead with it.

"I am?" he asked, touching his fingers to his forehead. Sure enough, as he pulled his fingers down to look at them, they were colored with crimson blood. Joe's eyes widened and he sat back a little in his seat.

"What happened, Joe?" Mike asked again.

"I- I had a vision. There was this demon, a really really strong one. It had some kind of natural knife launcher in its palm or something. It shot one and killed Jesse, then came towards me as I was watching the vision. It swiped at me and just barely hit me, but I didn't think it could hurt me. This is…weird." Joe explained. Jesse just sat there and stared, pale as a ghost.

"Are, are your visions usually right?" Jesse asked nervously.

"Not a hundred percent of the time, but usually," Joe answered, "I can feel some very strong things out there. I can't sense their thoughts, because they're dead already, but I can tell that there are 6 of them. And one of them is the one that killed Jesse." Joe explained.

"But, wait, I thought that there were 7 demons in your other vision? And then one really strong one." Hector asked, still driving.

"There were, that's what's confusing me. But In any case, Jesse, I think you should sit this fight out." Joe said, his forehead now bandaged.

"What? No! I need to fight with you guys! We're outnumbered as it is!" Jesse protested.

"No, I don't want to take the chance." Joe said.

"But if I don't fight, then-" Jesse started.

"YOU CAN'T DIE!" Joe yelled, "I CAN'T BEAR TO BE RESPONSIBLE FOR _ANOTHER _PERSON'S DEATH!" Everyone sat in silence for a few moments. There was a strange, heavy feeling in the air, and Lyn shivered.

"Someone just rippled the timeline, I can feel it. Very dark magick, very advanced, very near, but I can feel it." she said, searching around like a bloodhound.

"What's that mean?" Mike asked.

"Someone's fate has just changed." Lyn replied, eyes narrowing in thought.

"But, I thought that Fate was set in stone. No one can ever change their fate." Hector asked.

"That's true. Strange things are about to unfold. I have a weird feeling." she finished. Jesse laid still, not moving, just watching the signs and things on the side of the road go by. The rest of the trip was in silence.

They drove for another 6 hours, and finally made it to the historical city of St. Louis. The arch came into view a few minutes before they crossed the city limits, indicating that the city was still standing. As they entered the city, their eyes all widened in shock. All through the city, military personnel were posted; on the sides of the street, on top of buildings with sniper rifles, driving around in tanks, and setting up road blocks.

They drove up to what they presumed to be the headquarters of the outpost, and unloaded. It was there that they were greeted by a smiling face that they were all glad to see.

"Ah, here they are, the finest warriors the earth has to offer." General Williams said, saluting them as they approached.

"It's good to see you again, General." Joe greeted, shaking his hand. He didn't look any different than their first encounter, except for his hair, which was now all but completely grey.

"I take it you guys got the order from the capital to come here?" General Williams asked.

"Yeah. Last night they called Hector's cell phone and told us to be here by noon. Sounded pretty important." Alicia explained.

"It is. This, according to our knowledge, is going to be the biggest demonic invasion out of anything that's happened so far. The entire force is lead by some sort of demon assassin. Very agile, very skilled, very deadly. I believe it's called Greed." Williams explained. Joe stood in silence, pondering.

"What type of weapon does it use?" Mike asked, knowing what Joe was thinking.

"I believe it produces its own daggers from its body. Ejects them as either hand tools or projectiles from its own arm. It's quite disturbing." Williams said. Joe's eyes widened, and he turned to Jesse.

"That's the one, the one that killed you and injured me in my vision." Joe said. Jesse stood silent for a moment, and then spoke.

"Well, no matter how big or bad this thing is, I still want to fight, and you're not gonna stop me." Jesse said defiantly. Joe sighed, trying to relieve some of the stress that was building up in his mind.

"Fine, but promise me, that if you see that thing coming towards you, you'll run, okay?" Joe asked, sounding worried and scared for the first time in months.

"Alight, I'll try." Jesse answered.

"Okay. So general, would you happen to know what time it is?" Joe asked, sounding a bit more relieved. The General pulled out a gold pocket watch and flicked it open.

"Only 2 minutes to noon." He answered, clicking it shut and placing it back in his pocket. Suddenly, there was a rumble, and Joe's eyes flashed purple.

"They're early." he announced sarcastically.

Suddenly, purple tinted clouds appeared in the sky, and began swirling into a giant circle. The middle of the circle glowed a deep shade of green, and demons began falling and flying out of the newly made portal. Cracks in the ground also began to release demons all around. Joe, Hector, and Alicia unsheathed their swords, and Lyn prepared the spells she was going to use. Mike and Jesse strung a few arrows and prepared for the onslaught.

"Mike, Jesse, take cover over in that building and fire through the windows. Get out if you get in trouble. Alicia, take the area over there by those soldiers, they're gonna need all the help they can get. Lyn, Hector, you guys stay with me. Let's do this!" Joe ordered. They all nodded in agreement and took positions.

Gunshots echoed off of every surface in the city as the demons broke through the road blocks and entered the city to begin killing. Joe ran forward, jumped over the nearest soldier, and immediately began battle with the nearest fiend.

"Well, so much for fighting together…" Hector said, chuckling a little.

Joe was in a blind rage, running straight into the mass of demons, flailing his sword around madly, splashing blood everywhere, and parting limbs and heads from bodies.

He wouldn't let this vision come true; he couldn't.

Suddenly, he held up his hand, and a bolt of red lightning shot down from the sky, and landed in his palm. Where there was simply air before, now sat a red glowing sword made completely of energy, wielded in his hand. Now his rage turned into a rampage, demons falling left and right.

One of them grazed his arm, and he retaliated, by throwing his sword like a javelin through the fiend's head, then pulling it back to his hand with his mind to resume fighting. Lyn and Hector held back, killing the ones that Joe missed or let go. Alicia was giving support to the heavy equipped soldiers, who couldn't move very fast, but definitely got the job done right. Mike and Jesse relentlessly fired arrows out of the window of the building, making their target each time. The Apocalyptic Elect were back in action, and nothing could stop them.

Even though all of these demons were dying, there was still another problem to contend with. A great number of demons strayed away from the larger group and wandered into the city, and began destroying it; leveling buildings, blowing up gas stations to cause enormous explosions, and making huge craters in the sidewalks and streets. Within a few minutes of the battle's start, a fourth of the city was already in ruins. Joe finally made it out of the rabble of demons, blood soaked and panting, but satisfied with his headcount.

"Guy's we have to do something. A good portion of the city is already gone. Hector, come with me and we'll try and fix this. Lyn, stay here and stay alive." he said, catching his breath.

They charged through the city, not stopping for breath or death. They made it to a section of the city that was clear of demons and ruins, and stopped for a second to catch their breath again.

"Okay, they'll be here in a few seconds," Joe started, speaking over the rumble of the oncoming destruction, "I'll try and hold off as many as I can from the front, while you run around back to try and guillotine them, okay?" Joe finished, standing up straight.

"Got it." Hector said, also standing up straight again. Hector then ran back the way they came and took a hard right behind a nearby building, charging towards the now visible rabble of oncoming demons. Joe pulled his sword at the ready, and charged.

There were about 500 demons charging towards him, but he didn't care, all he knew at the moment was how to kill; and he did this well. He held his sword to the side, and as he collided with the oncoming army, he clotheslined a lot of the demons that came at him, parting their heads immediately. Meanwhile, Hector reached the back of the army, and began hacking away at the fiends fiercely, trying as hard as he could to reach the front.

On the other side of the city, the demon's numbers were dwindling, and more began spilling out of the cracks in the streets, refueling their numbers and strengthening the morale of the surviving demons. The soldiers' supplies began to empty, and their numbers then also began to fall.

General Williams stood in the center of the HQ, an MP40 perched on his shoulder, watching the onslaught.

"Bring in the tanks." he ordered to the man standing next to him.

"Yes, sir." the man replied, saluting and running off. Suddenly, a rabble of giant tanks rolled forward, crushing demons that stood in their paths.

"Move away!" Williams yelled to everyone as the tanks rolled in. The Elect members and surviving soldiers took heed and pulled back a little into safety, as the tanks began firing at the enemies.

Most shots hit their mark, but many of them missed and began striking buildings. Rubble flew around everywhere, threatening to blind anything that got in its way. One of the tanks fired and missed, and struck a building right in the corner where its main support beam was. The beam shattered, and the building began to sway, sending glass shards and bricks tumbling to the ground. The building then began to fall, slowly toppling into the intersection where the battle was occurring.

It smashed to the ground, sending dust, glass, stone, brick, and metal everywhere, crushing 3 tanks, a huge number of demons, and multiple soldiers in the process. Demons began trying to take control of the tanks, firing at buildings to knock them down.

Meanwhile, Hector and Joe were hacking away the last of the demons in their area, extremely satisfied with how their work had turned out. Then, Joe turned to make his way back to the HQ, when suddenly, he saw her; Greed.

The thing had red skin, was a little shorter than Joe, orange, glowing eyes, and a face like a female human.

"You…" Joe said, his eyes narrowing with hatred. It simply continued towards them, eyes fixed. It stopped a few feet away, and spoke, its voice strangely airy.

"So, still haven't figured it all out yet, have you, young master." Greed taunted mysteriously.

"Young master? What are you talking about?" Joe asked angrily.

"Apparently not. You mortals are so blind to everything around you." she said, staring him in the eyes.

"I can see well enough to sense your fright, you stupid demon. Your life ends today." Joe said, brandishing his sword.

"I may die, yes, but with me, I take one of yours." Greed said, smirking slightly.

"What are you talking about? You mean Jesse? Ha, don't make me laugh. He's perfectly safe right now, you'll never get him." Joe laughed.

"We sins can read Fate; we know when each one of us will die, and when each of you little maggots will die. His life ends today. And yours is not far behind it. You're all going to die in a matter of days." Greed said, ringing out in a chorus of demonic laughter. She then leapt into the air and vanished.

"Come on, Hector. We have to get back before she does." Joe said frantically. They charged towards the battlefield, not stopping, not thinking, and focusing on the sole idea of getting there in time.

Back at the battlefield, the demons' numbers were sorely dwindling, and they knew it. With the majority of the buildings on this side of the city destroyed, many of the fiends tried to escape, to run away, but most were cut down before they could make a second thought about it.

On top of one of the few buildings left, Greed reappeared, staring intently down on the battlefield, like a cat stalking a mouse. She then spotted her target; Jesse, standing unknowingly inside of a building with another human.

"Touché, human." she said simply, and then jumped down into an area of roaring flames beneath her. The last demon fell at the hand of Alicia's short sword, and then all was quiet. Only a handful of soldiers remained, including the General, and every member of the Elect.

"They never learn…" Mike said, walking out of the building with Jesse to join Lyn and Alicia in the middle of all the carnage.

"Of course not, we're the teachers" Alicia joked, sheathing both of her swords.

"Where did Joe and Hector go?" Jesse asked, noticing that they weren't present.

"They headed off to another area to stop some things that were destroying the city" Lyn explained. Just then, they heard someone yelling from behind, and they all turned to see Joe and Hector running towards them, screaming something inaudibly.

"We can't hear you!" Mike yelled to them. Greed then sprung, taking advantage of the situation. Everyone's back was turned to her, and Jesse was standing closest to where she was hiding. She walked out of the flames, and advanced towards the group. Joe noticed this from a distance, and tried to run faster, but his limbs wouldn't allow it, he was exhausted, but kept running and yelling.

"You have to come here, we can't hear you!" Alicia yelled at them. Greed came closer, and as she walked, she raised her hand forward, readying for her strike.

"NO!" Joe yelled, almost in tears.

He was helpless to do anything.

He watched in horror as the blade was ejected from Greed's arm, and embedded itself in Jesse's back, making him stagger slightly.

Jesse's face lit with shock and pain, as he fell slowly to his knees, then further down onto his stomach, face down on the ground. Everyone turned to see Jesse on the ground, the blade sticking up from his spine, and the demon standing there, a crazed smile on her face from her work.

"You bitch!" Mike yelled, stringing an arrow. Suddenly, Joe leapt over Mike's head, unsheathed his sword, and struck it right into Greed's chest, spraying more blood onto the ground. She fell to the ground, the crazed smirk still on her face as she hit the ground.

"Killing me is only step one in the process," she said, sputtering up blood as she spoke, "Like I said, no matter what you're all gonna die."

"And how can you be so sure about that?" Joe asked angrily, pulling his sword from her chest.

"You all went to Hell, and you all escaped. Hell is not just another city that you can simply go to and from whenever you wish; it's a realm, and no one gets out alive. Fate will hunt you down. None of you will live, you can't control Fate. 4 days from now, you'll all be dead." she said gleefully.

"4 days…That's the one year mark, exactly a year after we came back from Hell." Alicia said. Greed chuckled some more.

"It's just too bad the other group couldn't go with you. I'd like to see all of you dead at once…" Greed said.

"Other group? What are you talking about, _we_ are the only Apocalyptic Elect there are, no one else." Hector said.

"No, you're not. Because you're going to die, there are now others that have been chosen, but now they'll never know. And it's all because he's going to kill you." Greed taunted, pointing at Joe. He stood there in shocked silence.

"What are you talking about, I'd never hurt anyone here. _You're _the one that killed him you bitch." Joe said angrily.

"You'll never understand, will you…you stupid…mortal…" Greed sputtered, and then died.

Joe turned away from her body, and looked at Jesse's lifeless form on the ground. Silent tears began to spill down his face and he took the small knife out of Jesse's back.

"It's all my fault, I couldn't get here soon enough…" Joe whimpered to himself. General Williams walked over, his hat in his hand and across his chest.

"I'll bring a medic to carry his body away." Williams said, then bowed and walked off.

"Joe, Greed's body, you can get a vision now." Hector said, indicating towards the demon's now lifeless body. Joe walked over to it, took his right glove off, and put his hand on the demon's forehead.

He closed his eyes, and watched…

'_He was in a rural area, the red sky spanning out over green fields and sparse small houses. A boy of about 17 was running up the dirt road, a determined look upon his face. He carried a silver longsword in one hand, had short, spiked brown hair, blue eyes, a hard-set face, and was a little shorter than Joe. A pack of demons approached him from the front, and he raised a hand at them. His hand glowed purple and the demons all exploded, all at once. One of his hands was a normal human hand, garbed in a ratty, tan leather glove. The other hand, however, had claws protruding from the tips of the fingers, like dragon claws. The skin on this hand looked a bit harder than that of the other hand, and was a small tint darker than the other. He wore a hexagonal pendant around his neck on a brown leather strap. Up the road, 5 more figures could be seen, silhouetted against the sky. 2 looked familiar, while the other 3 were a complete mystery. All were different, but each had something in common; they were chosen. Joe watched as the only surviving member of his childhood ran down the road, guided by destiny and will…'_

His eyes shot open, glazed with tears as he realized what he was seeing.

"It's…it's my brother…" Joe said breathlessly, putting his glove back on.

"Wait, what?" Mike asked frantically.

"I saw my brother. He's alive." Joe said, still exasperated.

"But, I thought your family was murdered by Satan?" Hector asked.

"They were, but remember what he said after I asked him about it? 'There was an unfortunate turn of events there…' I think he means that they didn't find my brother when they went to my house." Joe explained, his breathing becoming normal once more.

"Did you see anything else?" Alicia asked.

"Yeah, there were 5 other people too, but I couldn't really see them too well. But I could have sworn that I'd seen 2 of them somewhere before." Joe explained, wracking his brains.

"I get it now…" Lyn said, staring at the ground, "Greed said something about another group. These people that you saw, they are the other group of Apocalyptic Elect. Your brother is the leader, because he follows in your Bloodline".

"I just don't understand how he could have developed his powers so quickly, it took me forever." Joe pondered to himself.

"Does your brother have a name?" Mike asked sarcastically.

"Yeah, it's Vance." Joe said. They stood in silence again, for a few moments.

"Well, I guess our new quest becomes clear, no matter how much we don't want to accept it." Hector said with a bit of finality in his voice.

"Yep, we have to find the new Apocalyptic Elect before we all…die…" Lyn said somberly. They all walked over to the car quietly, wanting to get as much of a start as they could.

"Well, I can pick up his thought patterns a little bit, so we should be able to track him." Joe said, climbing in the driver's seat. He closed his eyes and concentrated on nothing but his brother; what his vision showed him, what little he could remember from his childhood, and the importance that his brother would have in the near future.

He locked onto his location, and shocked himself at where he found him. His eyes shot open, and he started the engine. They roared through the rubble and slaughter, and found a clear road out of the city, heading due north.

"Where are we going?" Hector asked curiously.

"Somewhere familiar…" Joe responded mysteriously, gaze fixed on the road. They rode in silence from there. After a few hours, the desert-like freeway began to fill with power lines, buildings, ruined houses, and some homeless people. They rolled into the city, the air heavy with the tension of homeless victims and the stench of destroyed hope.

"Are we…?" Lyn started.

"Yeah, we're home." Joe replied. They looked on in awe as Joe stopped out in front of his old house.

They unloaded from the car and walked up onto the lawn. Joe took in his surroundings, thinking to himself. He walked over to the old tree in front. The damage was still there from when the ice-cream truck had crashed into it. He put a hand on the mangled bark, and allowed his fingertips to touch it. A sudden image of a sullen, smirking, friendly face flashed across his eyes, and disappeared as quickly as it had appeared.

He walked over to the only small patch of living grass left in the yard, and again, allowed his fingertips to graze the blades of green. The faces of 2 young boys swam around his mind, playing in a yard, faces filled with joy. Then the image was gone, replaced with the death that was around them; reality. Silent tears began to fall from his eyes, brought on by the thoughts of everything that he had lost now.

He no longer had a life, and now he wouldn't. Knowing that he was only going to exist for mere days only brought on one feeling to his mind; hopelessness. He would never know what it's like to be an adult, to have his own home, to savor the feeling of a fulfilled life as an elder. They walked up to the house, and Joe's mind began to twinge.

"Guy's wait." he said, extending an arm back, "We're expected."

He unsheathed his sword and approached the door cautiously, which was hanging off of its hinges. As he was about to enter, a flash of purple ensued from inside, and someone jumped out from the door, colliding a silver blade with Joe's blue one. The two figures stood there for what seemed like eternity, just staring blankly at each other. Finally, Joe spoke.

"Vance? Is it you?" he asked. Vance just stood there, still shocked. Finally he let his blade drop, and sheathed it.

"I knew you'd find me." he said simply. Then they hugged, releasing 2 years of tension.

"Aww, brotherly love." Alicia teased.

They all walked inside and took a look around. The paint was peeling off of the walls, exposing bare white dry wall on the other side. Almost all electronic devices were gone, including the refrigerator, TV, microwave, computer, and lamps. The couch was still there, but had many holes in it and had faded dramatically.

"Wow, the things that a year can do to your memories…" Joe said, still looking around. Once they had taken in all of their surroundings, they sat down on the couch.

"Wow, just like old times, eh?" Hector said. Joe simply nodded. He knew that Hector meant well, but being in the house without Eli just felt, wrong.

"What happened to you Joe? You've changed so much." Vance asked. Joe turned his head to look at him.

"I grew up. And I've been doing this for almost 2 years now, and believe me, 2 years of death is enough to change anyone." Joe explained, taking a glance at Lyn as he spoke. She blushed a little and looked away.

"What about you? Where have you been these past 2 years?" Joe asked.

"In hiding. That day when you came home and no one was here, I ran away. I had a vision in my sleep, about dad and the devil coming to kill all 3 of us. So I ran, but I didn't have enough time to tell mom." Vance explained.

Joe rubbed his hands down his face, partly to dry the tears on his face, and partly because his worst suspicion had been confirmed; his brother was the only family he had left.

"How did your powers develop that fast? Mine just came to me within the past year." Joe asked, finally getting out the big question he had been meaning to ask.

"I'm not sure, but that day was my first vision, and I didn't know it was a vision until later, once I started having more of them." Vance explained.

"Where have you been staying?" Mike asked.

"With my friend, Pat. As soon as all this happened," Vance indicated to the sky outside, "I ran out and bought some swords for us. The guy at the shop thought I was out of my mind when I told him I planned on using them." Vance said sarcastically. Joe laughed softly for a second.

"Do you know why we came looking for you?" Joe asked.

"No, but I'm thinking it's probably not good." Vance responded.

"It's not. We killed Greed, one of 7 of Satan's main pawns, and, she gave us some news that we'd rather not have heard…" Joe said somberly.

"What? The earth is doomed?" Vance asked sarcastically. He definitely had Nate's sense of humor.

"It will be, if we don't wrangle up the rest of your crew in time." Joe said. Vance looked utterly confused.

"Wrangle up the rest of my crew in time? What crew and before what happens?" he asked.

"The second group of Apocalyptic Elect, which you happen to be the leader of, seeing as how you're in the Bloodline." Joe answered.

"No, you're going to be the leader, aren't you?" Vance asked.

"…No. The truth is, I'm going to die." Joe said simply, knowing it was the best way to break it to him. Vance sat there, staring at him blankly.

"No you're not, you're perfectly healthy." he said.

"No, I am going to die, there's nothing else to it. It's not from age or health or anything. Fate has chosen us to die because we went into Hell, so in 4 days, we'll all be dead, and it will be up to you and the others in your group to finish our work." Joe explained. Vance looked in awe, also feeling the same sense of helplessness that Joe had felt.

"…How am I going to know what to do if you're gone?" he asked.

"We'll fill you in as we gather up people. I know that there's going to be 6 of you." Joe said.

Just then, something bumped from upstairs and began moving towards the stairs. Joe shot up and unsheathed his sword as the person appeared from the bottom of the stairs. It was a boy about Vance's age, with short blonde hair, dark brown eyes, dressed in a T-shirt, a button-up overshirt, a pair of ripped blue jeans, and red sneakers. His eyes shot open as he saw Joe standing there with a sword pointed to his face.

"Uh, Vance? What's going on?" the boy asked quickly.

"Joe, put it away, this is Pat." Vance said, standing up. Joe looked at Pat for a few more seconds, then sheathed his sword and sat back down.

"Pat, this is my brother, Joe." Vance said, indicating towards Joe.

"Come here." Joe said to Pat, motioning him forward. Pat hesitated for a moment, and then stepped forward slowly.

Joe removed his glove on his left hand, and placed it on Pat's forehead. He closed his eyes, preparing for a vision, but nothing happened. Then suddenly, Pat began to glow blue, and Joe's eyes began to glow purple, as white energy flowed from Joe's arm into Pat's body. Then, it stopped, and Joe pulled his arm away.

"He's number 2." Joe said, pulling his glove back on, "I couldn't get a vision, only a very strong minded person could do that." They stared at Pat for a few moments.

"So that means 2 down, only 4 to go." Alicia said.

"Yeah, and 4 days to do it in." Joe added.

"Would someone like to fill me in on what's going on?" Pat asked, a crazed, confused look on his face. Joe then took a deep breath, and began telling the story, starting 2 years earlier, when he and Nate first entered the other world.

It was very painful for Joe to talk about it, and he had to stop occasionally to keep his mind straight. He ended with the speech that Greed had made earlier that day. Vance and Pat sat there, soaking it in for a few minutes. Joe then noticed Vance's hand, and something from his vision came to mind.

"Hey Vance, what's up with the claw hand thing?" Joe asked, looking at Vance's hand.

"Oh, it happened a few days after I went into hiding. I think it's got something to do with the Bloodline, like a power I haven't been able to adapt to yet, but I can tell it's strong. In the meantime, it works as a good weapon when I'm unarmed." he explained.

"We should work on that. If you expect to be a leader, you need to take advantage of any power available to you." Mike said. Joe nodded in agreement.

"Alright. Anything else you need to know?" Vance asked.

"Yeah. Who's responsible for all of this wreckage in the city?" Joe asked.

"Sloth. Another one of those sins you were talking about." Vance explained, "Its crazy, that thing. It looks like a cross between a tiger, a grizzly bear, and some kind of demon. It's got a head shaped like a bear, with glowing blue eyes, red fur, and horns. Its torso is a combination of scales and fur; the scales are greenish-black, and the fur is red. Its claws are about 3 inches long and are always covered in blood. Its lower body is completely demon; red scaled, black clawed, all that good stuff." Vance explained.

"You've seen it?" Lyn asked.

"Well, of course. You don't just expect me to sit around all day, do you?" Vance asked. They all laughed, relieving some stress.

"Okay, well, it looks like we're gonna have to kill this thing, too." Joe said, standing up to stretch. Just then, an explosion sounded from outside, and they all rushed to the door.

Standing down the street, towering 7 and a half feet tall, was Sloth, roaring into the sky.

"Well, how convenient, the foe comes to us." Pat said. They all unsheathed their swords and ran out into the street. Sloth let out another deafening roar, then charged at them.

"Well, with a name like 'Sloth' you'd expect it to be a bit slower, wouldn't you?" Mike asked sarcastically. It reached them, and Joe fell to his back, kicked his legs up, catching the beast in the stomach, and hurdling it over the rest of the group. It landed with a loud crash behind them, making a small crater in the ground.

It got up and roared again, this time running at them with its claws bore. Vance ran towards it, his clawed hand extended to the side, and he slashed its side as he passed it. Green blood began to seep from the wound, but it didn't slow the beast, it simply kept running, determined to kill its targets.

"This thing is so mindless it's ridiculous." Joe said, running towards it. As he reached it, Sloth made a slash and connected with Joe's right arm, spraying a bit of blood everywhere. It then wheeled back a bit a punched him in the side of the head, sending him flying to the side of the road.

Hector took the opportunity to run forward, and sank his sword in the thing's back. Sloth cried out in pain, reached its arm around, and pulled the sword out of its back. It then wheeled around and threw the sword at Hector, who dodged it, and ran to retrieve it.

"It's head! Destroy its brain!" Vance yelled. Pat then ran forward, jumped and flipped, and skillfully slashed at Sloth's head, cutting it in two. Sloth stopped moving, blood trickling down its body, and fell forward, face-down on the ground. Pat then sheathed his sword and ran over to Joe, along with everyone else. His arm was bleeding profusely, and he was almost unconscious.

"Whoa, Joe _is_ human after all…" Hector said in disbelief. Lyn bent down and held her hands over Joe's arm. They glowed white, and the wound began to grow smaller and smaller, until it vanished completely. She then moved her hands over his head, and began healing that too. Joe's eyes slowly opened, and he sat upright again.

"Good job guys, that thing was a real brute." Joe said, having Lyn help him to his feet. He took the glove off his right hand once again, and placed it on the belly of the beast, and began his vision process.

'_Once tall buildings were now rubble and ruins, smoldering from recent flames. Mangled cars lay everywhere, along with the drivers, who were now all but dead. The once blooming city of Chicago was a giant ruined memorial to those that sacrificed themselves for the good of their own kind. One small group of people survived though, and they were now rummaging through the street, salvaging anything they could find. One girl in particular radiated a certain power that could only mean one thing, and Joe knew what it was. She was a little younger than Vance, with long brown hair, an innocent but deadly set face, a thin body garbed in a sleeveless shirt, blue jeans, and white tennis shoes that were now dark tan with dirt. Her mind confirmed Joe's suspicions, and his mind set with the next task at hand…'_

Joe took his hand away and placed his glove back on.

"We're off to Chicago. We'll find our next group member there." Joe said.

"Right. But one question. How are we going to fit everyone in our little car now?" Lyn asked.

"Good question. We'll just have to find a bigger vehicle is all." Joe replied.

"I think I can help there." Vance said, "Follow me."

They loaded into the car, Joe started the engine, and they were off, following Vance's directions. He led them a little ways across the city, to an abandoned garage in-between two ruined auto shops. Joe stopped the car and Vance hopped out, and walked over a control switch by the garage door. He pressed a red button on the top, and the door slowly slid open.

Inside the garage, there were multiple wrecked and disassembled cars, some raised into the air, and a few cars that looked like they still had some life in them. Vance indicated to an old van parked to the left of the door.

"That would probably be your best bet. Seats a lot." he said. Joe walked over to the van and began inspecting it, making sure it had all the necessary parts to run.

"Well, it looks to be in running shape, not the prince charming of vehicles, but it'll have to do." Joe said, wiping his hands on his shirt.

The van was an off-white color with slightly tinted windows. Through the windows they could see it sat about 9 people, and had brown carpet inside with brown leather seats. Joe tried to open the door, but quickly realized that it was locked.

"Where're the keys?" he asked Vance. Vance walked over to a small wooden rack on the wall and pulled off a single bronze colored key, and tossed it to Joe. He unlocked the doors, and everyone piled in and got seated.

"Hm, full tank of gas. Nice touch." Joe said, starting the ignition. The car sputtered for a moment, then roared to life. Joe stepped on the gas, and roared out of the garage, and down the street, speeding south down the freeway.

"It's about 3 hours to Chicago from here, so get comfy guys." Joe said, sitting back a little in his seat. They rode in silence, simply thinking about the task at hand, and hoping beyond hope that Fate could be fooled.

The countryside was completely barren; no trees, no houses, no cars, no pedestrians, nothing. The rural acres then began to thicken with buildings and trees. As they entered the city, they could see just how good they had it back in their hometown. Chicago was not only destroyed, but also overrun with demons and crazed, infected people. Pedestrians walked around the city randomly, blurting words to themselves, soaked in a mixture of demon blood, blood of their friends and family, and blood of their own.

"This is insanity. It's like, like…" Lyn started.

"Hell?" Joe added smartly. They parked the van next to the nicest building they could find, which basically meant the only building that wasn't reduced to mere feet of rock. As they filed out of the van, they could hear inhuman roars and loud screams in the distance.

"I think we just found our target guys, let's go!" Hector said, unsheathing his sword. They ran for a little bit, and emerged from around the corner of a building to a sight that they half expected. There was a group of 3 people, surrounded by blood-thirsty demons, growling and sniffing at the as they circled. Joe and the rest of them charged forward, weapons extended.

Joe made first contact, parting the head off of the first demon, sending it falling to the ground. One of the demons' eyes flashed white, and it backed away slightly, removing itself from the fight.

Alicia shoved both of her swords into the forehead of one of the fiends, and pulled them apart in separate directions, ripping the creature in half. Lyn extended her arm towards a demon, palm up, and launched a big javelin of ice into the chest of the demon. The giant crystal turned bright red, and exploded, sending pieces of the demon everywhere.

Pat and Vance both ran towards the last 3 demons, running side by side. They leapt into the air and kicked off of each others feet, launching them in opposite directions. They then jumped off of the sides of the buildings on either side of the enemies, propelling them back towards each other. They then held their swords to the side, and decapitated each demon as they flew past.

"Now _that_, was impressive…" Joe said, wiping some blood off of his face. Then there was one solitary demon, watching them all with glowing white eyes.

"This one's different guys." Hector said, warning them. The demon then began to glow white, and something started pulling itself out of its back. It was another creature, this one almost human.

His skin was milky white, and he was garbed in a buttoned up black trench coat and big black boots, and had black hair that covered the right side of his face. His eyes were completely black, no pupils or white.

"Another sin, I'm presuming?" Joe needlessly asked, knowing the answer already.

"Correct. I am Envy." he said, his voice cold and smooth.

"So, are we going to have to fight this out like your other colleagues?" Hector asked smartly.

"Fighting is so cliché, but if you insist, yes, I will challenge you." Envy said. He then raised a black gloved, glowing red and to the ground, and a wide crack struck across the ground, and more demons climbed out of it. These creatures were more menacing than the last wave, standing on 2 legs, with claws protruding from their fingertips and toes.

Their heads look like they were covered with a layer of red wax, with holes for eyes, which were simply glowing red slits. They had no clothes, simply red skin pulled so tight on their muscles that it looked like they could break in half from a quick blast of wind. One of them rushed forward, moving with incredible speed, and took a swipe at Hector. He moved out of the way just in time, and kicked the thing backwards.

"Damn, I wasn't expecting that…" Hector said suddenly. They all then moved forward, striking quickly at the disturbing figures. Every swipe that they made was simply dodged, then countered by an equally staggering swipe by the strange demons.

Envy then began glowing white, and rose into the air. He began wavering like a piece of wet paper, and melted away into one of the demons. The creatures eyes glowed white, and it began fighting twice as hard.

"He possesses creatures…" Joe said to himself, blocking a shot from one of the demons. Envy waved one of his arms, and Vance, Pat, and Alicia froze on the spot, glowing white, and unable to move. Lyn then raised a hand at them, and made a shield around them so that they couldn't be harmed.

Then it was only Joe, Hector, Lyn, and Mike fighting the two demons and Envy. Joe, Lyn, and Hector occupied themselves with Envy and one of the other demons, while Mike locked his sword into the arm of the other demon. It bounced off of its arm like metal. The demon went to swipe at Mike, when suddenly, a sword protruded out of the thing's face, and then pulled out again. The demon fell to the ground, and Mike was left looking into two familiar faces.

"…Erk? Sain?" he asked breathlessly.

"Yeah, it's us." Sain said. They looked almost no different from when they had last seen them, except that Sain's hair now came down to his shoulders, and Erk's was no longer brown, but black. The 3 of them ran over to Joe and the others and began trying to take out Envy and the remaining demon. Mike, Sain, and Hector struck at the same time at the demon, each one impaling it at a different spot. The thing fell to the ground, and began dissipating.

Then it was only Envy. Lyn ran over to the 3 that were frozen, and gave them back mobility, and they all joined the fray. "Well this is certainly unfair, 9 against one?" Envy said, his voice floating in the air.

He then began changing; his eyes grew wider and began glowing yellow, he grew 20 feet taller, his body turned into an inky-like crimson substance, and his voice grew demonic and menacing.

"That's a bit better…" he announced. He brought his arm down quickly towards the ground, attempting to crush the opponents. They all moved out of the way, and Envy's liquid-like fist smashed into the ground, leaving a crater.

"Guy's I've got an idea, don't worry about what happens to me, just keep him busy…" Joe said. They nodded and turned their attention back to Envy.

Joe charged towards the giant hulking figure, and began running up its side.

"You aren't a very smart human, are you?" Envy boomed, "You're solid, so walking on water is quite foolish".

Joe then began sinking into Envy's body. The last thing they saw of him was the tip of his blue sword sinking into the inky depths.

"JOE!" Sain yelled. Suddenly, a purple light began to emit from Envy's stomach, and it grew brighter and brighter. Then, Envy's body suddenly exploded, showering the area with blood and reddish-black ink. Joe rolled onto the ground and landed on his back.

"Well, that could have been more graceful…" Joe joked, getting up on his feet. A small area of the ink was still glowing white, and it began to pull together. It all made one big pile, and began molding into a human-like figure. Envy's body now laid before them, a hole in his stomach. He began laughing maniacally, spitting up a lot of blood in the process.

"No matter if you kill all 6 of us, you mortals are still going to die. Please, young master, finish your work, and the masters will be most pleased with you…" Envy said, speaking directly to Joe.

"Why in the hell do you things keep calling me 'young master', I have nothing to do with you, and I haven't killed anyone here yet, except for your kind." Joe said, getting frustrated. Envy simply laughed more.

"Still haven't figured it out yet, have we? Well, you will see soon enough, young mast-…" then he was gone. The group then turned their attention to the 3 victims they had originally seen being hunted by the demons. They turned to run, but Joe stopped the one standing in the middle.

"You, come here." he said, motioning her forward.

"Please, don't hurt me, I just want to…" she started, sounding extremely frightened.

"Don't worry; I'm not going to hurt you." Joe said. He took off his right glove, and placed his hand on her forehead. Just like with Pat, Joe received no vision, but simply pumped energy into the girl.

"She's number 3." he said, putting his glove back on.

"Number 3 for what?" she asked frantically.

"Vance, Pat, would you please take her aside and fill her in? We need to get reacquainted with our friends over here." Joe said, indicating to Sain and Erk.

Joe then walked over to Envy's lifeless body, took his glove off once again, and started another vision.

'_He was standing in a black room that looked to have no walls, only darkness and flames. In front of him stood a figure silhouetted in shadow, blade hung loosely in its hand, surrounded by the bodies of his fallen. Joe moved forward a little bit and was horrified at what he saw. All around this person laid the bodies of his friends; Lyn, Hector, Mike, and Alicia, all were dead. The person turned to Joe, and began moving forward, his eyes glowing a deep shade of purple. Joe stood glued to the spot, as his own figure materialized in the light in front of him, his sword still stained with the blood of his comrades…'_

Joe fell backwards, face drenched with sweat, eyes wide open and pupils dilated.

"Joe? What is it? What did you see?" Mike asked frantically, helping Joe to his feet.

"N-nothing, it was nothing important." he replied, eyes still wide.

"Did you see the location of our next member?" Hector asked.

"No, I didn't" Joe said breathlessly.

"Well, then what did you see that was so bad?" Hector asked.

"I SAID NOTHING, ALRIGHT?" Joe snapped loudly.

"Well sorry for being curious about our fates." Hector responded defensively. Joe then turned his attention to Erk and Sain, and something clicked in his mind.

"Lyn, I think that, the 2 familiar figures I saw in the vision, were these two right here." Joe said. He brought his hand near both of them, and his eyes began glowing purple in response.

"I was right! It was you two! You guys are the other 2 members of the new group." Joe said excitedly.

"Well, it feels nice to be important." Erk said modestly.

"Yeah, but it'd feel even better if we knew what we were important for." Sain joked.

"Well, in a nutshell, we're all going to die, and you guys are going to have to take our place when it happens." Joe explained. Sain and Erk looked at them as if they had little aliens crawling out of their eye sockets.

"Yeah, I know it's hard to believe, but it's going to happen. Jesse's already dead..." Hector finished, looking down slightly as he said it. They stood in silence once more, and Vance, Pat, and the girl came back over, the girl looking greatly disturbed.

"How'd it go?" Joe asked.

"Pretty well. She's just taking it all in right now. Her name's Kristine, by the way." Vance said. Kristine stood there, the same look of appalled shock upon her face. Mike tapped her shoulder, and she seemed to come to.

"You okay?" he asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine." she said, rubbing her head a little bit.

"Okay guys, I think we should find a place to stay for the night. Maybe tomorrow we'll find another demon that will tell us where we're headed next." Joe said, motioning them all towards the van.

"But, shouldn't we try and find the last member of the group first?" Hector asked.

"No, because we have no idea where they would be, and it'd be dangerous to try and travel at night with our current situation." Joe explained.

"I understand that, but, look how much our group has grown. We could demolish anything that got in our way. Kristine could just use Jesse's sword." Hector argued.

"No, we're not staying out any later than we have to. We'll continue the search tomorrow." Joe said, more sternly this time.

"I understand what you're saying, I was just looking out for the group, seeing as how we're all concerned with time and all and-" Hector started again.

"WILL YOU JUST LISTEN TO ME? WE'RE NOT LOOKING ANYMORE TODAY. WE'RE FINDING A PLACE TO STAY FOR THE NIGHT." Joe screamed, losing his temper. Hector opened his mouth to speak again, but promptly closed it, knowing that the subject was closed. Everyone suddenly shivered, as the heaviness in the air they had felt before returned.

"There's that ripple in the timeline again. I wish I knew who was casting it. It's extremely dark and extremely dangerous magick." Lyn said, nosing around the air. They all made their way back to the van, and loaded up. Hector sat in the very back, not wanting to set Joe off again.

"So you don't have any problems with coming with us, do you Kristine?" Vance asked.

"No, I have no family or anyone to return to anyway. You guys are all I have now." she said, sighing. Joe started the engine and roared it down the road.

"Have any ideas of where we might stay, Kristine?" Joe asked in a dull, monotonous voice.

"Uh, there should be a stretch of motels and hotels up here if you want to use those." she responded. He drove a few miles further up the road, and came to a business section devoted primarily to lodging. They found a building that seemed almost unscathed by wars, and decided to stay there.

The hotel was white with about 5 stories, each with a multitude of windows. As they unloaded and walked inside, they could see that all of the necessities were still available; electricity, water, and heat.

"Alright guys, I don't know what's going to happen during the night, so stay on the first floor." Joe said. They all roamed around, trying to find a room to stay in. Every room was the same; white walls, one big window, a big bed, a single bathroom, one closet, a television, a lamp, red carpet, and a single night table.

Joe found one that he liked, and unloaded his equipment into it. He then left the room and went to help everyone else find proper rooms to stay in. When they had all settled down into rooms, they met in the main lobby and sat down on the various couches, which they moved together so that they could talk.

"You okay now, Kristine?" Mike asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine now. This all just took some getting used to." she said. Joe sat still, lost in thought, trying to work over little details in his mind.

"Lyn?" he said finally, only loud enough for her to hear while the others were talking.

"Yeah?" she answered, also whispering.

"Are you still mad at me? You know, for before?" he asked sadly.

"How could I be mad at you? We're all going to be gone in a matter of days. I think I have more important things on my mind right now besides being angry at someone I love." she replied. Then Joe, for the first time in months, smiled.

"Okay guys, long day tomorrow, we should all head in and get some rest, we're gonna need it." Hector said, standing up and stretching. They all followed his example and started towards their rooms. Lyn walked with Joe to his room and stopped outside the door.

"You know, there's enough stress and tension among us as it is. Maybe you should apologize to Hector; he was only trying to help, and you kinda went off on him big time." Lyn said.

"Not right now, I can tell he's uncomfortable around me at the moment. I'll apologize tomorrow morning. I promise." Joe said. He then gave her a kiss, went into his room, and closed the door. He threw his trench coat aside, and it flopped to the ground like wet paper.

He unbuttoned his black shirt and threw it aside, exposing the many scars and bloody cuts on his abs and chest. The year of fighting carved his body into a battle-ready statue. He then fell face first onto the bed, and fell asleep.

His mind swirled with violent torments of purple and red as he slept, forming faces in the swirling void. His faced twitched slightly as he slept, but he remained peacefully unconscious.

The same couldn't be said for Hector, who was tossing and turning on his bed as he slept.

'_His mind was raging with torrents of demonic images, destroyed cities, dead innocent people, and glowing eyes. Then, suddenly everything went white, and he was standing in a completely white, light room, nothing around him at all. He began walking, hoping to find some sort of exit somewhere, anywhere. Suddenly, he saw a woman, dressed in a black gown, with flaming red hair, and a slender body, walking towards him in the distance. She reached him, and held a black gloved hand out to his face. As she touched his cheek, an icy cold chill ran all through his body. "Don't worry, you're safe here." she said, her voice smooth and soothing.'_

Just then, Joe's eyes shot open, and he was wide awake.

"Hector!" he shouted to himself. He got up, pulled his shirt on, leaving it unbuttoned, and bolted out the door towards Hector's room. He got to the door. He tried to open it, but it was locked. He held a gloved hand up, and it began to glow purple, along with the door. He wretched his hand backwards and the door flew out of the frame and off of its hinges.

Lyn ran up next to him as the door crashed to the floor.

"What in the world is going on?" she asked.

"Hector's in trouble." Joe said simply. He ran into the room, and stopped by Hector's bedside. He looked to be asleep, but his face was twitching horribly.

'_Hector's eyes lulled lazily as the woman rubbed her icy hand on his cheek. He wanted to stay in this place forever, to never have to face the torment of reality ever again. Just then, the woman raised her other hand, and a hole appeared under Hector's feet, filled with water. He dropped into the small pool, and began flapping around helplessly, trying to keep buoyant. The pool began to expand, growing wider and wider. The woman raised into the air, floating above the water. As he tried to swim towards the edge, it moved further and further out of his reach. She then held a hand down, and Hector's head plunged under the surface of the water. "The name is Lust, in case you wondered." she announced, still holding his head below the surface.'_

Hector was now flailing like a fish out of water in his bed, coughing and sputtering up water like a fountain.

"I'm going in." Joe said, taking off both gloves.

He placed his hands on Hector's forehead as best he could, and entered his dream.

'_He was standing at the edge of a very strange lake, not made by nature or man. In the center of it was a small torrent of upset waters, splashing and moving as the thing below the surface flailed for its life. Joe saw a woman floating above the water, her hand facing down towards the water. He jumped into the air and soared over to her, his sword unsheathed. He took a swipe at her, but she deflected it with a wave of her arm, and he passed right through her, hitting the ground on the other side of the lake.'_

Hector began moving less and less, but still coughing up water, now with a mixture of blood in it. Everyone was now in his room, standing next to his bed, knowing that they were all helpless to defend him against whatever it was that was attacking him.

'_Joe stood up and shook his head a bit, clearing away the fogginess that the landing caused. "Lust I'm presuming?" he asked, looking her in the eye. "Correct, young master. You humans are smarter than we give you credit for." she said, her voice echoing around the white void-like room. The disturbance in the water began to lessen, and the lake began to calm itself once more. "Let him GO!" Joe screamed, and held up his arm. Lust froze on the spot, and began floating towards Joe. He cuffed his hand as if he was holding a cup, and Lust's neck began turning purple. "How do you like it? Air is nice, isn't it? It's not nice to DENY it to someone!" Joe screamed. As he spoke he made a very hard tugging motion with his other hand, and Lust's left arm parted from her body, spraying blood everywhere; staining the holy white with red. He made a twisting motion with his hand, and Lust's head rotated around until it cracked, and she died on the spot.'_

In a flash of blue light, Joe fell from the ceiling, carrying the body of Lust. Hector shot awake, his face, neck, and chest soaked with water and blood.

"...Joe, I'm...sorry that I...argued with you..." Hector sputtered, his voice hoarse and weak. Joe ran over to the bed.

"No, it was my fault; I've been such a stupid hothead lately. I'm sorry, it was my entire fault..." he said, wiping the blood off of Hector's eye.

"You have to...find the last person...I guess it was, just my turn, first..." Hector said, blood still trickling from his mouth.

"No, Hector, no. You can't leave us now, we need you..." Joe pleaded.

"...I'm...sorry..." Hector croaked. His eyes slowly closed, and then all was silent. Joe buried his face in the bed and wept silently to himself. Lyn came up behind him and put her hands on his shoulders.

"It's not your fault, there's nothing you could have done to prevent it. You can't control Fate." Lyn said, trying to comfort him in any way possible. Joe lifted his head, got to his feet, and walked over to Lust's body.

He looked down at her lifeless form with more repulsion and hatred than anyone had ever seen. He then took his glove off, and laid his hand reluctantly on her side.

'_He was standing on a street corner in a neighborhood that looked to be completely normal; no homeless people wandering around, no demons, nothing unusual. The house in front of him was a nice little house, painted yellow with white trim, a single big window, and a white door. It was squished between 2 houses; the usual style for suburban California. As he approached the house, a girl with bright blonde hair stepped out the door and began walking up the street. She wore a black t-shirt, blue jeans, and black sneakers. Her blue eyes were vaguely hidden behind glasses that reflected the glow of the red sky over the city of San Francisco.'_

Joe opened his eyes and replaced his glove on his hand. He took Hector's sword from the side of the night table, and hung it from a belt loop on his pants.

"Get your stuff and get out of the building" Joe ordered, no tone in his voice. They all quickly followed the request, and left the room. Joe took one final look at Lust's body, and snapped his fingers as he stood in the doorway. The entire area around her body burst into flames, and he replaced the door inside the frame, using his telekinesis.

He walked into his room, buttoned his shirt, put his jacket on, grabbed his things, and walked out of the room and through the front door. They all gathered outside by the van, and watched the result of Joe's anger.

The entire building was engulfed in flames within minutes. The purple night sky was tinted with a twinge of red, as the twilight began to be breached by the morning.

"We're going to San Francisco, that's where we'll find our next member." Joe said. They all loaded into the van and sat down, one extra seat now vacant.

"So, we're supposed to get to San Francisco by driving from Chicago?" Sain asked sarcastically. He was simply trying to mask the pain he was feeling, and to lift everyone's morale a little.

"Sain, not really the time..." Erk said, patting him on the shoulder.

"Vance, get this thing to California" Joe ordered simply. Vance was taken aback.

"What are you talking about? You want me to push it there or something?" Vance asked angrily.

"No. I know you can teleport things, and I want you to try and get this thing to California." Joe said, still not expression any change of emotion in his voice. Vance looked to be in a state of shock.

"How...how did you know that?" Vance asked breathlessly. Joe just tapped his forehead lightly.

"Come on, we're not getting any younger here, let's get going." Joe said impatiently. Vance closed his eyes, and the car and everyone in it began glowing purple. Suddenly, they all disappeared in a flash of white light. Then, as suddenly as it had started, it stopped, and they were in a quiet neighborhood during the early hours of the morning.

"This is it, where we need to be." Joe said, opening the car door. They all took his example and unloaded from the vehicle. They were right by the corner that Joe had seen in his vision, but the surroundings were a bit different.

Houses were still standing, but some were on fire, some were in disrepair, and small demons were running amok in the streets.

"I must have been looking into past in that vision." Joe said to himself. They approached the house that Joe had seen, and knocked on the front door. The door opened, but they were greeted by the barrel of a rifle. Joe held his hand up, and the barrel of the gun bent upwards until it faced the ceiling. The girl holding the gun dropped it and began backing away in shock.

"Don't worry, there's no need to fear us." Alicia said, moving forward. The girl backed up until she was by the couch, and sat down.

"I...I knew something like this was going to happen. My dreams, have been telling me things lately. I saw a big group of people, very powerful, and, they came and took me, and, I was safe..." she said, her voice shaky.

"Well, we _are _here to take you, but that's because you've been chosen as a one of the Apocalyptic Elect." Lyn said.

"...What do you mean Apocalyptic Elect?" she asked, utterly bewildered.

"In short, we caused all this, and now we're the only ones that can stop it. And now all of us from the original Elect are going to die, and you guys are going to take our place to finish our work." Joe explained. The girl stood up, standing quite a bit shorter than Joe, who towered over everyone.

"Vance, Pat, Erk, Sain, Kristine, and now you, make up the new Apocalyptic Elect." Mike said.

"Do you have a name?" Alicia asked.

"Yeah, I'm Anna." she said, still staring in one spot, her pupils quite dilated. By this time, the sun was rising, which meant that back home, it was mid-morning by now. Joe stepped forward, towards Anna.

"Now, don't get freaked by this, but I'm going to have to put my hand near you make sure we were right." Joe said, taking off his glove. She simply nodded and stood still. He brought his hand forward, and she began to glow blue.

"She's the one." Joe said simply. He tried to pull his hand away, but something was forcing it towards her forehead. His hand made contact, and another vision started.

'_He was standing in the great front courtyard of the White House, which was anything but white now. Big black towers protruded from the corners of the building, and it was colored black now, tainted with the scent of death. He started searching the building with his mind, scouring for some sign of life, _any_ sign of life. In the Oval Office, he found it. A human-like life form, projecting power that even he couldn't believe. He picked up traces of his memory, but then the thing turned into some kinda of wispy form and blew away. The memories were enough, though, to identify their greatest enemy yet...'_

Joe shot backwards from the girl and almost fell on his back. His eyes were bloodshot, his face was drenched with sweat, and he smelled of burning flesh now. He put his glove back on and ran out to the van.

"Come on, now, we don't have any time at all." he yelled desperately at them. They followed him out to the car.

"What is it?" Alicia asked.

"Nothing, but if we don't hurry, it will be." Joe said unlocking the car.

"Alright, but that doesn't answer my question of what you saw..." she replied.

"IT'S NOTHING, NOW GET IN UNLESS YOU WANT TO DIE." Joe screamed at the top of his lungs. The heaviness returned to the scene, but Lyn didn't have time to announce its presence again.

"Vance, get this thing to Washington DC." Joe demanded. Vance closed his eyes again, and everything started glowing purple once more, but then faded back to normal.

"I can't, there's some kind of evil barrier blocking the entire city from unconventional ways of entering. Meaning we can't teleport." Vance said.

"Well then get this thing as close to there as you can." Joe said, more frustrated now. Vance began the process again, and this time they flashed away in a bright shine of light. They reappeared on a rural freeway, somewhere in Virginia. Joe roared the engine to life, and they sped down the freeway, cruising at just under 100 miles per hours, heading south, towards the capital.

"That's why we haven't gotten any new orders..." Joe said quietly to himself.

"How far out of the city are we?" Alicia asked from the passenger seat.

"At this pace, we should be there in about 10 minutes." Joe answered, still staring at the road. They drove for about 5 minutes, encountering only a few twists and turns on the road.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, a demon appeared on the road, the size of a small boulder, sitting in the middle of the freeway in front of them.

"HOLD ON!" Joe screamed. He slammed brakes, but it was too late. They smashed into the demon, and the car lifted from the ground, did a flip in air, landed on its top, and rolled a few times off of the road, finally stopping on its wheels, which were now flat.

"Is everyone alright?" Joe asked frantically, his forehead bleeding a little. Everyone, a little shaken, agreed that they were fine, except Alicia. She was sitting with her forehead against the dashboard, glass littered in her hair.

"Oh no..." Joe whispered to himself. He kicked the inside of the driver's side door and it flew off of the car, landing feet away. He ran to the other side and wretched the passenger door off, and pulled Alicia out, laying her down on the grass. She was still breathing, but just barely; a big shard of glass had lodged itself in her neck.

"Guys, keep going...we're so close now, don't give...up..." she said, and then closed her eyes for the long rest. Joe shot up and kicked the car as hard as he could. It lifted from the ground, did a few flips and landed 10 feet away. Mike walked forward, took Alicia's longsword, and handed it to Anna.

"You'd better learn to use this..." he said somberly. She took it and nodded, attaching the sheath to her belt loop. Joe was kneeling down on his knees, his face buried in his hands. Lyn walked over and put an arm around his shoulder.

"...Why us? We didn't even ask for this! And now, we don't even have lives any more. We're just supposed to sit around and wait to die, and that thing, Gluttony, the thing we hit, it's already helped Alicia along the way..." he said tears streaming down his face, "We didn't ask to go to Hell, and we didn't ask to leave it either. That stupid being teleported us away and now _we_ have to pay for it..." he finished.

He took out his sword and made a motion to bring it through his neck, but Lyn grabbed it and put it back in his sheath.

"We're going to make it. We're not all going to die before it can be finished. We've already got the group together, now we only need to stay alive long enough to put them on the right track..." she said. He looked her in eye, and nodded slowly.

He then got to his feet, and walked over to the flattened body of the demon Gluttony, the 5th sin. He brought his fingertips nears to its body, and suddenly a face flashed across his mind. He brought his hand away as Nate's eyes burned images into his mind.

"So, it seems that I've found you, my friend..." Joe said, speaking to himself as he walked away.

"Vance, get us to the White House, we're inside the barrier now." Joe demanded.

"Alright, everyone huddle together." Vance said. They made a circle, and Vance closed his eyes. They started glowing, and then were gone once again. They reappeared outside the front gate of the White House. It looked exactly as it had in Joe's vision; dead, evil, and menacing.

"This...this can't be right..." Lyn said, look around frantically.

"It is; this is what happens when evil gets what it wants..." Joe said. He kicked the gate and it swung open, allowing them up the path to the massive building. They started up the path, and Joe started on a long explanation.

"Okay, for you new members, this is the deal. When I first started getting my visions, I saw this big stone place that was frozen over, and had some weird hexagon-like keyholes in a wall. That's what we were looking for before we found out that we were all gonna die, and _that_ is what you guys are going to have to find once we die. You're going to have to find the 3 keys and open whatever its hiding. We're thinking that this shrine place is the only thing that will be able to put Satan back in Hell where he belongs." Joe explained as they walked up the path. They seemed to understand what he was saying, so he continued.

"Now, I'm sure Hakalahs has the first key, so once we take care of the last 2 sins, we're going to have to take him out. Then, at that point, it'll be up to you guys to locate the last 2 keys. Erk and Sain have a lot of experience in adventuring and fighting, so they'll be invaluable tools to you guys once we're gone." Joe finished. They all nodded, and then walked in silence.

They approached the front of the building, and Joe opened the massive, black front door, and they entered. Everything inside was composed of either black stone or marble. There were doors on both sides of them as they entered, and a big black staircase in front of them. Joe closed his eyes, trying to navigate with his mind where they would have to go next. His eyes shot open, and he pointed to the stairs.

"Third floor, first room at the top of the second staircase." he said. They started up the stairs, and all readied their weapons. Kristine and Anna were fumbling with the swords, wondering how everyone could hold them up so high with them being so heavy. Joe walked over, and placed a gloved hand on each of their foreheads.

All 3 of them started glowing purple, and Kristine and Anna's eyes started glowing white, as energy and knowledge flowed into them. Joe brought his hand away, and looked at them expectantly. They both held up their swords with ease, now knowing the techniques they needed to stay alive. They then continued up the stairs, and emerged in a long black and marble hallway with many doors and halls connecting to it.

Joe closed his eyes again, and then quickly pointed right. They followed his direction, and started down the hallway. They got to the end, and made a left at the corner. The next staircase was visible from the end of the hall. They started forward again, moving cautiously. They got halfway through the hall, when all of a sudden, the lights dimmed slightly. A big black shadowy substance flew up through the floor, and hovered in midair in front of them. Red eyes stared out from the cloud-like blackness, menacingly staring them down.

"...I told you I'd find you..." Joe said, speaking to it indirectly. The eyes narrowed, and it suddenly flew up through the ceiling, into the floor above.

"Come on guys, that's our target!" Joe yelled. They threw caution to the wind, and made a mad dash towards the stairs. They bound up the stairs, taking them 2 or 3 at a time, and made it to the top. Right in front of the stairs was a door, the only wooden door in the building. It was dark brown hardwood with a brass knob. Joe threw a hand forward, knowing that the door would be trapped, and it flung open, allowing them to walk it.

They were in, not the Oval Office, but a huge black chamber, composed of the same stone and marble as the rest of the building, but lit much brighter than everywhere else. As they entered, the shadow was floating in front of them, in the center of the room, simply staring at them.

"Take your true form. Show everyone what I already know." Joe yelled as they entered. The shadow simply stared at them with its narrow, red glowing eyes.

"Do it now, or be struck down." Joe yelled, even louder this time. The thing hesitated for a moment, and then started lowering itself to the ground, molding itself slowly into a physical form. It formed legs, arms, a head, and a torso. It started taking color as it touched the ground. It finished changing, and Lyn, Mike, Erk, and Said gasped.

His grey eyes hadn't changed a bit in the year since it happened. His brown hair was still exactly hung to his shoulders; no longer or shorter. He wore his ripped black t-shirt, black button-up overshirt, ripped blue jeans, and black sneakers, just as he had before. The bloody scar on his chest still visible, standing a head shorter than Joe; a year's worth of height.

"Well well, well, took you long enough to get here. I was expecting you a week ago. Miss the bus did we?" he said sarcastically, taunting them.

"Now now, Nate, don't be so modest. You _know _we're early." Joe said, attempting at sarcasm. Vance took a step forward.

"This...is Nate?" he asked, shocked.

"Was..." Joe said simply.

"Oh no, Joseph, it's me. You see, Satan thought it such a waste to destroy a perfectly good soul like mine. So he immediately promoted me in his ranks," Nate explained, pacing back and forth, "But you, I _never_ would have thought he'd save his most important position for _you_..." Nate finished, staring him in the eye.

"What are you talking about?" Joe asked angrily.

"Oh, still haven't figured it out yet, _young master_? I see you're missing a few of your numbers. Such a shame you had to kill them off so early on..." Nate taunted, narrowing his gaze.

"I did NOT kill them; your stupid minions took care of them for you." Joe screamed.

"No Joe, _you_ killed them involuntarily. You know how the saying goes, 'you can't control your Fate', well guess what, _you_ can change Fate." Nate said.

"You've still lost me" Joe admitted.

"YOUR ANGER, JOE, YOUR ANGER! Notice how every one of your friends died after you had a big argument with them? Your heightened anger is the only thing in the universe with enough harnessed energy to _change_ fate, and _that_ is what you did. Your subconscious mind wanted them dead, just as it always does when you're angry. So your anger involuntarily changed their fates so that they were killed. It was YOUR FAULT that they died, Joe, not ours." Nate said dramatically. Joe's eyes widened as he came to realized what Nate was saying.

"He's...he's right..." he whispered to himself. Nate started applauding, slowly and loudly.

"Congratulations, Joe, you've officially become Wrath, the last of the 7 sins." he said smugly.

"...No...That's only 6; Greed, Envy, Sloth, Lust, Gluttony, and Wrath. What about Pride?" Joe asked. Nate held his arms out from his sides.

"You're looking at him..." he said with a wild smirk on his face. Joe looked like he could be sick.

"That's what he meant by 'promoted', he's the 6th sin. And, I'm the young master, because I'm the 7th..." Joe said to himself.

"Well, now that the soppy sad stories are over, time to get down to business. I've been ordered by the highest power to kill all of you, including all of the new Apocalyptic Elect. So if you'll all hold still, I'll make this swift and painless..." Nate said, unsheathing his sword. It was the same red, jagged sword that he had before. Joe unsheathed his own, looking Nate in the face as if he could explode with frustration.

"You'll have to take all of us, if you want to kill even one." Joe said defiantly. Nate began slowly advancing.

"Have it your way..." he said. He ran towards Joe, and smashed his blade into his. Joe's arm buckled under the impact, and he slid backwards a few inches.

"Impressive..." Joe said. Joe then made his advance, making lighter, but quicker and swifter swipes. He then made a quick side-swipe and caught Nate's neck. The sword made contact, but swiped right through his body, like a stick through fog.

"Hm, very nicely done. I have to admit, I never thought our first fight would be like this." Nate said modestly.

"Enough talk..." Joe said simply. He held out an arm, and lifted Nate into the air with a flash of purple. Nate then dissipated into his cloud-state, and flew around in the air.

"Nice trick, isn't it?" Nate said, his voice cold and deep now. The cloud then flew over to Lyn and seeped into her body. Lyn raised her hand to her face, as if seeing it for the first time.

"Hm...Not quite as powerful as I'd like, but it'll have to do." Nate voice poured from Lyn's lips.

"Leave her alone! She has nothing to do with this!" Joe yelled.

"Oh, but Joe, if you want to kill me, I _have_ to have a physical form!" Nate dribbled sarcastically. Joe jumped forward, and collided his sword against Lyn's.

"You sadistic bastard..." Joe said angrily. Lyn's eyes changed from green to grey.

"No need to compliment me, _Wrath_." he taunted.

"The name is JOE!" he yelled, swiping quickly. He knocked the sword to the floor, then jabbed forward and impaled Nate through the chest. The black cloud seeped out of Lyn's feet, and re-formed into Nate again, this time he was laying on the floor with another bloody hole in his chest. Lyn fell to the ground as the last of the shadow left her.

"No!" Joe yelled, running to her. She was trickling a little blood from her mouth.

"Don't worry, Joe...You had to do it...we'll see each other again soon...anyway..." she gasped, and then died in his arms. He laid her down gently on the floor. There were no tears this time, no choking sorrow, nothing. Joe simply picked up his sword, and walked over to Nate's body. He was laying on the ground, gripping his chest, sputtering up blood.

"Good game, Joe. But it's not over. I may have failed, but you will die. You may be able to change Fate, but you can control it, my friend..." Nate sputtered.

"You're no friend of mine, you bastard." Joe replied. He then shoved his sword straight into Nate's forehead. Nate was dead instantly, not even able to close his eyes. Joe walked over to the group.

"That's the last of them, we're safe." he said simply.

"Not so fast, my little puppet." a familiar voice announced out of the air. A blue light began to emit over Nate's lifeless body, and it began to expand, until it formed a big blue portal. Then, suddenly, a black-booted foot emerged from the portal, followed by a leg garbed in black jeans.

Joe watched as the figure of Hakalahs emerged from the portal, garbed in a black t-shirt, black leather trench coat, white skin, and black hair sticking straight up. His eyes no longer burned like flame, but glowed green, like a sinister poison.

"You still have me to contend with." he said. Joe stared at him, hatred almost visibly glowing around him; this was the one responsible, for Jesse's death, for Alicia's death, for Hector's death, for Lyn's death, and why he was still living.

"You did this purposely, didn't you? You wanted me alive last. You WANTED me to see them all die..." Joe said, hatred quavering in his voice.

"Very good, young one, yes I did. I want to make a proposal. You can leave all this; all this death, the hatred, the sorrow. All you have to do is join us, Wrath, and you can have infinite power." Hakalahs said, smirking slightly as he said it. Something around Hakalahs' neck caught Joe's attention.

It was a thin brown rope necklace, holding a golden hexagonal piece at the end, about as big as his eye. It clicked in his mind immediately what it was.

"...All you have to do, is kill your friend here, Mike is it? I will then consider your loyalties with us." he finished. Joe looked to Mike, who was standing there with his sword in hand. Joe started talking with him telepathically.

"You know I wouldn't kill you, right?" he said silently to Mike, through his mind.

"I know, but if we don't do something, we're going to die anyway." Mike responded back, thinking it so Joe could hear it.

"Well, you know what we have to do right?" Joe asked.

"Of course I do. I'll follow your lead." Mike responded.

"Alright, see you again in a few minutes..." Joe finished. He then turned his attention to Hakalahs, who was standing there looking quite puzzled at the awkward silence.

"You know what, Hakalahs; I wouldn't join you, even if my life depended on it. And yes, pun intended..." Joe announced sarcastically.

"Fine then, I guess you die then. Remember this, as the fall, of the 7th sin." Hakalahs announced dramatically. Joe turned to face Vance.

"Vance, I want you to take my sword once I'm gone. Use it; it's helped me all this way. It was good to see you again, brother." Joe said, a single tear starting to stream down his face. Vance simply nodded, tears welling up in his eyes. Joe nodded once in response, and then turned his attention back to Hakalahs.

"Let's go..." Joe said, walking forward, accompanied by Mike. Hakalahs brought out his blade, which was jet black. Joe jumped forward, and connected his blade with Hakalahs'. He then held up a hand, and blew Hakalahs back with a flash of purple. He flew back and smashed into the wall, sending rubble flying everywhere. Joe then took his sword in both hands, and raised it above his head.

"The power of the Bloodline is now relinquished..." he said at the top of his lungs. The sword and he began glowing yellow. Mike stepped forward, and touched his blade to Joe's.

"I sacrifice this soul, to relinquish the power of the Bloodline..." Mike said, his voice quavering a bit. Mike began glowing red, and then fell to the ground; dead. Joe and his sword then started glowing green. He glowed brighter, and then turned white, and then stopped. He let the blade fall to the ground, and stared at Hakalahs, who was back on his feet.

"I'm powerless now, go ahead. I don't care anymore..." Joe said, holding his arms out at his sides. Hakalahs advanced forward, and shoved his sword right through Joe's chest.

Fiery pain pulsed through his entire body; his veins, his mind, his eyes, his heart, his soul, all were on fire. The sword was then pulled from his chest, and he fell to the ground, blood leaking from his chest.

It was over; finally, after 2 years of suffering, it was all over.

He then slowly slipped into darkness.

'_He was soaring through the skies, everything shining white and blue. He passed by many faces, most complete strangers to him. He then, ahead of him, saw faces that he knew very well. Lyn's smiling face was visible as he made his way forward. He stopped before all of them, all 8 of them, standing there before him. He shook hands with Eli and Marcus, smiling at seeing them again. He gave Lyn a kiss, and waved to the others. Then, Nate approached him, no longer evil, or weathered, or torn. They exchanged handshakes, and, for the first time in ages, they were at peace...'_

Vance watched in horror as his brother's body fell to the ground, and remained motionless. Hakalahs then made for the sword, but Vance quickly raised an arm, pulling the sword quickly towards him with his mind. He dropped his own sword as Joe's rested in his hand. He felt the power of 10 million gods flow through his arm and into his body.

"So, who's next?" Hakalahs asked, grinning wildly at his accomplishment. Vance's eyes glowed brightly white.

"...You" Vance said. He sheathed the sword, and then gripped his clawed arm in pain. The black skin was darkening, extending further and further up his arm. The claws grew longer, black claws that reflected the light in the room. He grew a foot taller, much wider and stronger, as the black scales extended all over his body. Black dragon-like wings sprouted from his back as the transformation completed.

"...Bloodline..." Erk said in awe, as Vance hovered into the air. He let out a bellowing roar, and his body surged with power, glowing brightly white. Hakalahs looked in awe, as his doom hovered closer and closer to him.

Vance flew towards him, and made a slash at him. His claws tore a big chunk of flesh off of Hakalahs' shoulder. He cried out in agony as black blood leaked from his shoulder and onto the marble floor below him. Vance circled around and rushed forward, ready for another strike.

Hakalahs threw a red energy charge at Vance's wing with his good arm, and Vance fell to the ground. He up-righted himself, and landed on the marble floor with a great crash, making a few cracks in the floor. He then charged at Hakalahs, claws bore.

He made a swipe and ripped the flesh off of Hakalahs' stomach, then swiped again and took the skin off of his face. Black blood was now flowing onto the floor, as Hakalahs screamed out in agony, shaking the building with rage. Vance then took out his sword, and shoved it straight into Hakalahs' forehead, killing him instantly. His lifeless body fell to the ground, surrounded by a puddle of his own black blood.

Vance began glowing white again, and started changing back into himself again. As the black scales receded back down his arm, they stopped where they had been before, returning his arm back to as normal as it was going to get. They all surrounded Hakalahs' body, and Vance noticed something on his neck.

It was the hexagonal key that Joe had been talking about before. Vance bent down, and ripped it off of Hakalahs' neck. It was slightly stained black, but still shone brightly yellow in the light.

"This is one of the keys." he said, looking at it intently. He then pocketed it, and looked around at everyone else. Sain, Erk, Pat, Anna, and Kristine; his new family. He motioned them to follow, and they made their way out of the building.

"So, what do we do now?" Pat asked.

"We look for the second key, and I think I know where it would be..." Vance said.

"Your father." Sain said simply.

"Exactly. We have to find him and kill him now." Vance continued.

"Again." Erk added. Vance chuckled slightly.

As they walked down the path back to the main gate, Vance began thinking to himself.

'So, this is the full power of Bloodline. I have to learn to harness it, or I'm going to end up hurting someone...' he thought. As they walked through the main gate, Vance could feel someone poking around in the back of his mind, and knew that he was there. He smiled slightly, as they walked down the road, and the sky started changing from a deep red, back to a sickly green, and stayed that way.

It reminded him of Hakalahs' eyes, which were now dim forever. His brother was quite powerful, and he now had to live up to his legacy.

"One down..." he said, smirking to the sky.

**To Be Continued...**


	4. Apocalypse IV: Blade of Memory

**Apocalypse IV:**

**_Blade of Memory_**

"_It was in that moment that I knew it would work, but Fate had other plans…"_

If the cold whipped their faces any harder, visible cuts would show, bleeding and freezing instantly in the Alaskan tundra air. They were wearing makeshift snow shoes on their feet, in attempt to lessen the slowing of the huge mounds of snow, though their footprints were still more like small ravines in the 3 foot deep snow. Vance's face was a deep hue of pink as he pushed forward through the pummeling winds and snowfall. Trailing him shone a faint purple light, guarding the rest of the group from the harsh winds, which helped them all move a little faster.

Vance's spiked hair was tipped with frost, and frozen solid, due to melted snow on his head. His eyes glowed dimly white as he marched, giving him a little light to walk by. They marched through a giant open valley, darkened by nightfall, but lit slightly by the white of the snow. In the distance, they could make out a rocky pass ahead, surrounded by 2 white, rock walls on either side.

"Be on guard, guys. Narrow pass coming up, good place for an ambush!" Vance called back, his voice slightly hoarse and cold. As they entered the pass, the wind died down dramatically, so Vance let the barrier fade into nothing, and they began walking at a normal pace once again.

It had been a month since the day Joe and Hakalahs died, and the world had steadily been regaining its composure since. The sky was still deep green during the day, but at night, the black star-dotted sky had returned on that fateful day. Countries were beginning to rebuild their cities, putting back up buildings, schools, stores, and other things. The capital was rebuilt, and a new president elected. Demons were still running amok in the world, but militaries have been able to set up suitable defenses against them, leaving the new Apocalyptic Elect to their biggest task at hand; finding Apocalypse and the last 2 keys.

All of the bodies of the old Apocalyptic Elect were collected and buried together in a memorial cemetery in Washington D.C., finally letting them get the peace and rest that they so greatly deserved.

A strange howling noise echoed down the pass, an echoing that was too monotonous to be the wind. They all readied their weapons and advanced more cautiously, not knowing what creature or creatures they would come in contact with. They walked for a few minutes, but encountered nothing, so they let their guard down a little bit.

"How long has it been now?" Pat asked Vance, walking next to him.

"We've been in Alaska for 3 days now." Vance answered, letting his eyes dim.

"And we've found what so far?" Pat asked, this time sounding pushy.

"Absolutely nothing" Vance answered, ignoring his tone.

"Exactly, so why in the hell are we still here?" Pat asked violently.

"I can feel the tomb, it's emitting a great power, and it's near, I just don't know where. We can't leave until we're 100 positive that it's not in this region." Vance answered, a little more annoyed.

"Then use your 'mind stuff' and look around for it, so that we don't have to be out here in the freezing cold." Pat suggested angrily.

"It's not that simple, Pat! My mind doesn't just simply look around like eyes; it has to have a pattern to look for, such as a thought pattern, or a trail of power. That's what I'm detecting right now, there's a faint hint of power in the air, but so far there's nothing as far as I can see." Vance answered, losing his temper. Pat's composure seemed to lessen a little, and he fell back in line to walk with the rest.

Suddenly, the low howling sounded again, and dim green lights began approaching them through the fog and snow ahead of them. As they neared closer, they saw that they weren't just lights; they were enemies. They looked like old women, but they were translucent and glowed dimly green, garbed in beads, tattered rags, wrinkled skin, and long dark hair in thin braids. Their mouths hung extremely low, making it look like they didn't have lower jaws, and they emitted the howling noise they had heard before.

The group readied their weapons; all swords, excluding Erk and Kristine, who preferred the use of magick and a bow respectively.

"Hm, new enemies..." Sain said, advancing slowly. The ghouls reached them and began swiping madly, fast for their appearances. Vance swiped his sword through the middle of one of them, slicing the green ghostly enemy in half, causing it to dissipate.

"Easy targets guys! Just be careful! We don't know any of their abilities!" Vance called out, dissipating another ghoul. One of the enemies swiped towards Erk as his back was turned, but Sain pushed him out of the way, and the thing ended up hitting one of its own.

Green steaming liquid oozed from the translucent wound, and the creature started melting into the ground, shrieking in agony. When all the ghouls were dead, the group gathered around the melted ghost. The glowing green puddle was still steaming as it lay there on top of the snow.

Suddenly, a dark green hand protruded from the melted corpse, and began pulling itself out further and further. Erk quickly waved his arm down at the pile, and it burst into flame, forcing everyone to move back quite a few paces.

"So, summoners, are they?" Vance said to himself, watching the flames. "I've never seen these enemies before. This isn't good." he finished. Vance waved his arm and flames went out abruptly, leaving an area of melted snow and blackened ash.

"Could we head back now? I don't think we're going to find anything else here except more enemies." Anna suggested, sheathing her sword.

"That sounds good to me. Everyone huddle up." Vance said, sheathing his own sword. They formed a circle, and Vance closed his eyes. They started to glow purple, then were off in a flash of bright white light.

They reemerged in front of an old fashioned log cabin in the middle of the wilderness, with 2 windows on each side of the house, a great oak door, and a stone chimney spewing white smoke. They walked into the cabin and Vance closed the door behind him, keeping as much warmth inside as they could. As they entered, they absorbed the features of the cabin they had stayed in only once before now.

In the middle of the room there was a big hardwood table surrounded by leather chairs and a big couch. To the right of the furniture there was a crackling fireplace, and on the opposite side of the room, there was a kitchen. At the far end of the room from the door, there was a set of stairs that lead from the first story to the second, where there were 2 bedrooms. There were animal heads mounted all around the room; trophies of death.

They filed in and unloaded their cargo in different places around the room, and settled down on the chairs to warm up. Vance took a seat on a stool to the right of the fireplace, and laid his head back on the mantelpiece. Nobody spoke; they all sat reflecting, thinking; hoping. Vance's eyes moved from left to right, as if he was reading an invisible book in front of his face.

"Sain, Erk, you guys traveled with Joe, right?" he asked, not lifting his head.

"Yeah, for a month or so" Sain answered.

"What kind of person was he? I mean, I know I was with him just a month ago, but, it seemed like I didn't really get to know that much about him…" Vance explained absent-mindedly.

"Your brother was a really good guy. Hell of a warrior, that's for sure. Nobody else who traveled with us back then is still alive, but I could tell you some things about our adventure against your father the first time, if you wanted." Sain said.

"I'd like that." Vance said softly.

"Well, let me think…Oh yeah. There was this time in our other world, while we were traveling; we came to this huge clearing where the sky was half red, and half blue. I mean, it was so beautiful. And Nate, being the idiot that he is, yelled out your father's demon name, which attracted all of his stupid guards to us. Well, that field was massive, so we had no choice but to fight it out, and your brother was crazy. He didn't want Nate to be taken away, so he would hew down 3 or 4 guards in a single sword swipe. Unfortunately, Nate was taken anyway, but your brother was the most valiant fighter that day. He may just be the most valiant fighter to have ever lived, in my opinion. It's probably why Lyn was so smitten with him." Sain explained.

"He really was a great person then…" Vance said, a little sullen.

"He was, and it wouldn't surprise me in the slightest if he was back one day. God knows I'd love to sit down and have a good long chat with him. Catch up on things, I guess." Erk said, staring at the ceiling. Silent tears began to streak down Vance's face, as floods of forgotten memories invaded his mind once again.

He was only 5 at the time, and a bunch of big older kids from down the street had taken his shoes from him while he was playing soccer, after accidentally kicking them off. They taunted them over his head, and he was just about to leave, when Joe showed up. Joe punched the oldest kid in the face, breaking his nose, and then swung the shoes by the laces into one of the other kids' faces. They ran home in tears, faces covered in blood, as Joe handed back Vance his shoes and took him home.

He then realized someone was talking to him and snapped back to reality.

"Hey, Vance, I think we've looked here long enough, don't you think it's about time we headed home?" Anna suggested.

"Yeah, that sounds good to me. Everyone huddle up." Vance said as he wiped the moisture from his face. They glowed purple for a few moments, then flashed away and were gone.

They appeared in the front yard of Vance's old house. The green sky still reminded them of the task they eventually had to complete, but life wasn't _all _bad at the moment. The neighborhood had begun to regain its composure. People were rebuilding homes, funding projects to get stores rebuilt, and were slowly coping with the losses of friends and family. The residents of Vance's home town didn't fear the demons that ran about, for they knew that the Apocalyptic Elect could handle most any problem that reared its face in the city.

The 6 of them walked up the stone path towards the house, no one speaking. They entered the front door and unloaded all of their traveling equipment. Sain and Anna went into the kitchen to make some food, Erk and Kristine flipped on the TV and got lost in its depths, and Pat stomped up the stairs angrily to his room. Vance unloaded his sword and pack, and then made for the door again.

"Where're you off to?" Erk asked, keeping his gaze on the television.

"I have an appointment that I have to take" Vance answered oddly, and walked out of the house. It was a little brisk outside at first, causing his skin to prickle with goose bumps at first. He closed his eyes, and faded away in a slight flash of light.

He reappeared again in a small gated field in the middle of a semi-busy city. 6 headstones stood before him, each engraved with a name and a small saying on the face. He walked to the first one on the very left, engraved with his brother's name at the top.

"It was in that moment that I knew it would work, but Fate had other plans…" it stated, right underneath the name.

"And it couldn't suit you more…" Vance stated to himself. He closed his eyes and began concentrating on his brother, trying to make some kind of contact with him. The area over the grave began to glow a faint shade of red, then began to take physical form. Where there was only air before, now floated a translucent visage of Joe, exactly the same as the day he died.

"Come on man, we're playing poker and I've got Eli on the ropes!" Joe complained sarcastically.

"I'm sorry, but I needed to talk to you. I'm all dried on ideas" Vance apologized.

"It's okay, but try and keep the visits to about once a week, alright?" Joe teased. Ignoring it, Vance went on.

"I've looked everywhere I can think of; going out in the wilderness and looking, reading books, asking people, and I've come up with nothing. I don't know what to do now." Vance explained.

"Well, I'm not allowed to tell you anything that may change the path of time, but all I can say is, sometimes the most complex answer can be found with a little cheating, and a bit of technology." Joe said mysteriously.

"That doesn't make sense, but thanks, I guess." Vance said, pondering.

"Just mull it over a bit. In the meantime I have to go. I'll see you later, bro." Joe said.

"Thanks." Vance said again, and then Joe's image dissipated. Vance stood for a moment, staring down at the grave. He then dug in his pocket, pulled out a coin, and flicked it in front of the headstone.

"A penny for your thoughts…" he said, then walked away slowly, and disappeared in a flash of light. When Vance had gone, the coin slowly began to pull into the ground, until it had been completely pulled under the soft earth.

He appeared outside the house again, and walked up to the front door, being greeted by the smell of a hot meal. He opened the front door, closed it behind him, kicked his shoes off, and flopped down on the couch next to Kristine, and laid his head back.

"Where'd you go?" Erk asked, not breaking his gaze from the TV.

"I had to speak to a man about a cow." Vance answered stupidly.

"Oh, went to talk to Joe again?" Erk asked, rolling his eyes.

"Yeah, I needed to see him again…" Vance said, not lifting his head.

"Come get some food you guys." Sain called from the kitchen. Erk and Kristine got up and moved to the kitchen, and Pat came down the stairs and followed, but Vance stayed where he was. He didn't have any appetite, and had no desire to force it. He began thinking about what Joe had said, trying to crack the riddle.

"_If it's technology, then apparently the cheating would be hacking, but hack into what? Maybe, some sort of national site, but that tomb is apparently nowhere in the U.S., so would that mean…_" Vance thought to himself. His mind then suddenly clicked, and he shot up off the couch. He grabbed his trench coat, seeing as how the sun was going down and it was getting a little nippier outside, and pulled his shoes back on his feet. He then made for the door.

"Where are you going now?" Sain asked with a mouthful of food.

"Library. I have some research I need to do." Vance answered, opening the door. He then wretched it open, walked out, and slammed it behind him.

"I'm worried about him; he's not eating as much, he's always so quiet all the time, plus I think he might be coming down with something because he doesn't always look the best." Sain said, looking down at his plate.

"Who cares, he can handle himself." Pat said ignorantly, staring at the ceiling. Anna simply stared at the closed door that Vance had exited from.

As Vance walked down the sidewalk, the darkening green sky loomed over him, taunting him with thoughts of the destruction that may soon come. He walked like a slow breeze, hands in his pockets, making no noise at all. People out finishing their gardening and chores waved at him as he passed, but got no response. He bowed his head as he walked, deep in his own thought.

'Is this how Joe felt? Did he have to deal with this day in and day out?' he thought to himself. His mind suddenly gave a slight twinge, alerting him to nearby danger; and him without a sword. He looked up quickly, seeing nothing but the sidewalk and houses before him. He continued, more slowly than he had before, picking his guard up slightly.

He rounded the corner, only to come nose-to-nose with Anna. He jumped slightly and had to restrain himself from swinging at her out of shock.

"Holy wow, please don't do that…" Vance said breathlessly.

"I'm sorry; I didn't mean to frighten you." Anna said apologetically.

"It's okay. What are you doing here anyway?" Vance asked, standing up straight again, having fully caught his breath.

"Whatever you're doing appeared to be more interesting than eating, so I decided to go with you." she said.

"Oh, alright. I was just on my way to the library for some quick research." Vance explained, starting to walk again, Anna at his side.

"Oh, what kind of research?" she asked curiously.

"Northern myths, that kind of research" he replied. They made the rest of the journey in silence, thinking the whole way there.

The library was a red stone building with many windows and two sets of doors; one in back and one in front. They walked around the side of the building, knowing that the front entrance would be locked as always.

"I still don't understand why you're coming here. What good will looking up urban legends do?" Anna asked curiously.

"You'll see. If my hunch is correct, this could be the break we've been waiting for…" Vance replied. They entered the stone building and were almost deafened by silence.

Due to recent events, very few people were in the library, and the ones who were were all surrounding separate tables, reading dead silently to themselves. Vance walked over to a nearby computer and sat down, and Anna grabbed a chair and sat down next to him.

Vance logged onto the internet and began flying through pages almost at light speed. Even though his right hand was clawed like a dragon's, he'd adapted to typing with the long nails.

"Nothing, nothing, absolutely nothing!" Vance whispered loudly to himself.

"Well, what do you suppose we do?" Anna asked him.

"This is where Joe's plan comes into play…" he said devilishly. He logged out of the internet, pulled a disk out of his back pocket and inserted it into the computer's CPU. The internet automatically logged back on, but loaded to a different page than it had before, this one containing nothing but a page full of zeros and ones.

"Hacking is a wonderful thing when used correctly, and you don't get caught." Vance explained, snickering to himself slightly. He inserted a long number into the address bar and loaded a page encrypted in a strange foreign language. He clicked on multiple links, flashing past page after page. He finally came to a page that was in an understandable language and didn't have numbers everywhere.

"Confidential Canadian Articles. What's that mean?" Anna asked.

"It's basically the CIA of the Canadian newspaper business." Vance explained, not breaking his gaze from the screen. Old newspaper articles began to appear on the screen, all in black and white or an off-white and black.

"These are what you need?" Anna asked.

"Exactly what I need, yes." Vance answered, reading intently. There were stories about Bigfoot type creatures, monsters, ghosts, paranormal activity, and alien sightings. He then scrolled to a section about natural formations and forgotten legends.

"This is it…" he said quietly to himself. There was one article in particular that caught his attention. He read it to himself:

'Stories of a strange, demonic cave located on an icy island have been steadily increasing in occurrence. Sailors and explorers report that the cave can be seen from sea, emitting a red eerie light, and making strange growling noises late in the night. Many ships and fleets have been reported missing after sailing past this general region, which leaves the concern that the entire area may be haunted by some sort of angry spirits. Any who wish to venture into the tundra of the northern arctic seas, use extreme caution.'

Vance sat back in the chair slightly, thinking to himself.

"That sounds about right." Anna said to him, finishing the article.

"It is, now all we need to do is get there. It says here it's an island north of the Canadian mainland. So that's where we're headed." Vance finished, shutting down the computer and replacing the disk in his pocket. Adrenaline was coursing through his veins like fast water in a small spout. They put the chairs back where they had been before, and exited the library.

"So, according to the article, this chamber is demonic in some way, I'm just not sure how." Vance explained.

"But, if it's supposed to help us defeat Satan, then how could it be demonic?" Anna asked.

"Good point, I'm not sure though. I guess it's just one of those things you're not supposed to fully understand." he said.

As they walked down the street, Vance suddenly began hearing echoic screams and growls in the back of his mind, followed by a loud explosion and more screams.

"Something's happening." he declared desperately.

"Where?" Anna asked.

"I think back at the house, that seems most likely to me, but I can't be sure." he responded. He grabbed her hand and began running down the street, back towards the house.

'_That power, how could it possibly be here…?'_ Vance thought to himself. They ran as fast as they could towards the house, hopping fences, weaving in and out of houses, and cutting through alleys. When they reached the house, they gasped in utter terror.

The roof of the house was covered in a black shadowy substance that seemed to be seeping into the roof, infesting the house. Vance stood in awe, watching the manifestation as if he was dreaming. He suddenly glimpsed for a moment, a pair of red eyes in the mass of black, and his mind reeled wildly with memories; just none of his own.

He was up in a high place, possibly some sort of air vent, and was trying to fix a light nearby. A shadow protruded from the corner and came at him, claws bared. He snapped out of it just as the claws reached his neck.

"_That wasn't me…_" he thought to himself. He had no time to ponder, though, because Anna started pulling him towards the house. Vance forced the front door open, and he and Anna stumbled in, almost tripping over the couch.

The first thing he saw was Sain and Erk fighting off some shadowy tentacles that were fiercely swiping at them from the corner between the wall and the ceiling. Kristine was behind the couch, firing arrows at the blackness on the other side of the room, and Pat was obviously still upstairs. Vance grabbed his sword from next to the couch, threw Anna's to her, and jumped into the fray.

He hacked off one of the black tentacles, and it fell to the floor. It writhed in pain for a moment, and then dissipated completely. The shadow retreated a little into the wall, but continued attacking as well. Erk swung his arm backwards, and wheeled it forward, it now being engulfed in flames, and shot raging fire at the shadow. It didn't catch ablaze, but the flames made it retreat completely into the wall.

They then suddenly heard a small shriek of pain from upstairs, and they rushed to the stairs. Pat's bedroom door was locked, so Vance made a swift kick and knocked it down. When they ran inside, their stomachs' lurched with disgust.

The room had been completely infested with demonic growths and shadows. The bed was now made of blood and flesh, and was pulsing as if it was breathing. The small circular carpet that used to be in the middle of the floor now had eyes and was inching it's way across the floor, leaving a streak of green blood behind it on the black, shadowy floor. The walls were black with blood splattered all over them, shadows and figures moving in the blackness.

They heard muffled cries from above and looked up. Pat was almost completely engulfed in the blackness, only his hands, forehead, eyes, and feet were visible through the shadow. Vance ran forward, leapt into the air, and slashed next to where Pat was held. The shadow split open, blood pouring from the wound, splashing on the floor and all over Vance. Pat's body vanished for a second, then dropped from the open wound, thudding loudly as he landed on the floor.

The shadow began retreating into the walls again, this time taking all of itself with it. The shadows disappeared from the walls and the floor, and the objects in the room stopped moving and took their usual shapes again. The blood remained where it was though, leaving a small reminder of the infestation. Pat got up slowly, apparently in pain. Vance ran over to help him up, but Pat took a swing at him as he approached.

"Who the hell do you think you are, Vance? God?" Pat screamed angrily, getting fully off of the floor.

"I'm just trying to help you, Pat. Don't get all angry with me." Vance said defensively. Pat continued to scream.

"No, you're not helping. It's your brother's and his stupid friend's faults that we're in this situation in the first place! If they had just minded their own business and not concerned themselves with things that they didn't know about, none of this would be happening! _Fate_ as you say it wouldn't have had an opportunity to let this happen! And now there's no hope at all for our survival. You can't find that place like your stupid, useless brother wanted you to, and-" Pat screamed, but wasn't able to finish.

Vance advanced forward as Pat yelled, and laid a fist right into Pat's jaw, sending him flying into a wall.

"Don't you DARE speak badly of my brother. It's thanks to him that we're still alive, if you hadn't noticed. If he hadn't come along, Sloth would have killed us where we stood. And now you have the nerve to sit there and insult him after he's already died? You've got some nerve, you bastard." Vance screamed. Pat stood up, holding the side of his face in pain. His jaw had already started to swell.

"That's it Vance, I'm done. You're on your own. All I've experienced since this started is pain, and I'm done. I'm removing myself from the Apocalyptic Elect." Pat stated. Vance was about to protest, but was suddenly forced backwards into a wall by an invisible force. His head smacked against the wall, causing him to shut his eyes in pain. When he opened them, he gasped at what he was seeing.

Pat was being engulfed in shadow from the floor, pulling him into the floor of the house itself. Vance got up quickly and ran forward to help him, but it was too late. The shadow quickly pulled Pat the rest of the way down until he was out of sight, and then dissipated. Vance dove for the dissipating shadow, and landed with a hard thud on the wood floor, further jarring his head and increasing the pain. He pounded on the floor in frustration, knowing that Pat was now gone. Kristine rushed up and helped him back to his feet.

"…He's gone, and it's all my fault." he said, walking towards the bedroom door.

"It wasn't your fault, it was his. He was the one that wanted to leave the group, and I guess that shadow took that as an opportunity. You had nothing to do with it." Sain said, trying to comfort him.

"Don't give me that crap, Sain. If I had been able to find the tomb quicker, none of this would have happened, and you know it." Vance proclaimed angrily.

"Vance, Pat was right, you're not God, and you can't control everything that happens in the world. Sometimes, some things are going to happens that you aren't going to like. You just have to accept it and get over it. Fate is with no one." Sain snapped back. At this, Vance's determination seemed extinguished and he walked back down the stairs to the living room.

He heaved his blade across the room like a javelin as hard as he could, and it sunk a few inches into the opposing wall, sticking like an oversized dart. He then angrily flopped on the couch, looking up at the ceiling with his arms sprawled at his sides. As soon as Sain reached the bottom of the stairs and saw the sword across the room, he simply turned on his heel and made his way back up the stairs, figuring it was the safer decision.

"_Letting Pat get taken is the biggest mistake I've ever made. I know we'll meet again, and it won't be a happy reunion…_" Vance said to himself. Exhausted, he closed his eyes and drifted into dream.

He was falling through a void of black, flipping and twisting in the fast currents of air around him. Pat felt like he wanted to vomit, but his insides seemed to be frozen from the emanating cold of the blackness. He finally hit solid ground, jarring his head hard, yet he maintained consciousness. As he tried to get to his feet, he heard a small cackle of laughter around him. Realizing he had just fallen through the floor of his room, he took in his surroundings, but was disappointed at what little there was.

It looked like he was floating in space, stars and darkness surrounding him; above him, below him, and on all sides of him. The cackling grew louder, and Pat realized he was being watched. He got fully to his feet and turned around, gasping. In front of him, in the middle of the void where he was standing was a giant shadow, shaped like an elliptical stone. A shadowy figure looked to be bonded to the stone by restraints of pure shadow; the same substance the figure was made of. The figure seemed to be furiously straining against its restraints, but continued to laugh in a maniac tone, chilling Pat to the bone.

"So, you've come at last, my dear puppet." the figure proclaimed. Pat couldn't visibly see a mouth on the man, but could tell he was grinning from ear to ear.

"Who are you? And why are you calling me a puppet?" Pat asked frantically. He had just realized his sword was still at the house.

"I'm the one on top of it all; Satan's release, Joe's death, Hakalahs' death, your being brought here, the attack on Earth…everything" the man said, a bit too cheerful, Pat thought. "And tonight, my puppet, I've brought you here to bring forth the turning point in this war" the man finished.

"Why do you keep calling me a puppet?" Pat asked, angrier this time.

"Everyone is my puppet. The _world _is my puppet. I had a certain interest in you, Pat, for the hatred in you had been growing ever since that thorn Joe brought his brother Vance into all this. You felt forgotten, left out, shunned away. It was like Vance had taken everyone else under his wing and left you to fend for yourself, and you finally broke. I'm proud to call you one of my followers, Dark One." the man said, attempting a bow, but being restrained further by the bonds.

"What is that thing behind you, and why are you trapped to it?" Pat asked, suddenly curious. The man chuckled for a second before responding.

"I was imprisoned here about 13 years ago, after being considered a threat to the universe. I found the lair of the impossible, the holding cell of Creation's law, the one truth to everything; and I took it over" the man announced dramatically. "I, in my infinite mortal power, had found the lair of Fate itself" he finished, raising his tone as he finished.

Pat stood in awe. He was in the lair of Fate, the workings of the universe, the laws of creation…but did that mean that this man was…

"I am not God, if that it what you're thinking, Pat" the man said, seemingly reading his mind. "I only lay out the plans for the world He created" he finished. It took a second for the revelation to hit him, but it did. Pat gasped, breathless.

"You…you're…" Pat started, awe-struck.

"Yes, Pat, I am Fate." he announced, finality in his voice. Pat took a few steps back, purely out of instinct of the shock.

"Do not fear, Dark One, I mean no harm to you. In fact, I wish for you to do me a favor…" Fate said mysteriously. Pat stared for a second.

"Go on…" he said, eyeing him strangely.

"You see, 13 years bonded to a rock of shadow can take a toll on a person. I simply want you to release me from this prison, and I promise you ultimate power, enough to get your revenge on that maggot, Vance." Fate said cunningly.

"How am I supposed to free you? And why should I? You look to be made of the same stuff that attacked my home a little while ago. It nearly killed me." Pat responded.

"Despite what you may see, Pat, I am human, just like you. I'm simply an immortal. Fate doesn't die. But it can apparently be contained." Fate said, indicating with his head to the stone behind him.

"Those shadows that attacked you were not me, although I did command them to bring you here." Fate continued, honesty riddled in his voice. Pat still wasn't fully convinced, but bought it for the time being.

"Okay, but I still don't know how I'm going to free you." he said, crossing his arms.

"It's simple. This shadow is actually a real substance, it's just opposite to what your world is composed of. All you have to do is touch the back of the stone with both hands, transferring some energy to it. The energy from your world will dissipate the shadow, letting me free." Fate explained.

"And what will you do once you're free?" Pat asked, staring Fate down.

"I honestly haven't pondered that yet; I assumed I'd be here for eternity. But as with all good deeds, you _will _have a reward." Fate said, his voice eerily soothing. Pat considered it for a moment.

His mind was telling him to go for it, but something seemed to be making him hesitate. He barely knew this man, so why should he trust him? Apparently there was something bad about this man, if he was entrapped in shadow for so long. Pat's thoughts flashed back Vance, his smug expression always slapped on his face when he defeated an enemy, the admiration everyone gave him. Was Pat not his best friend? Who had been there from the very beginning? Who had helped him kill Sloth? He had, and now it seemed as if all that didn't matter. Pat was simply another pawn to Vance, and he was officially sick of it.

With his mind made up, Pat advanced towards the rock of shadow, circling around the back and stopping a few inches from it. He raised his hands towards it, and stopped momentarily.

"_Last chance to change your mind…_" he said to himself in his mind. But his heart was set. He pushed his hands forward and connected with the stone.

Suddenly, empty space began to radiate from the point of connection, dissipating the rock all from where he had touched. The tendrils holding Fate in place began to retreat into the stone as it slowly dissipated from existence, along with the layer of shadow covering the man's flesh. His features were now distinguishable as the shadowy substance ebbed away from his body.

He had medium length brown hair that slicked back over his head and ended in spikes around the base of his neck. He had piercing yellow irises and mildly tanned skin. He was garbed in an open black robe with a slack red sash, open and revealing scarred and burned skin on his chest. Despite being trapped out in a void for so many years, he was still clean-shaven, radiating a certain youth that had long past, though he retained his young looks.

The man fell to the ground once all the shadow had dissipated, landing on his hands and knees, staring into the void below. Pat suddenly heard a soft audible chuckle coming from the man. Fate rose to his feet, now bellowing into the void with maniacal laughter, looking into his hands.

"Who…who ever thought that getting free would be so…so easy…" Fate panted, apparently worn out from laughing. Pat watched on it awe as Fate lifted his arm above his head, a small dark purple dot hovering in his hand. In the blink of an eye, the dot had grown to the size of a large boulder, swimming like an enigma with purple and black color. Fate threw it forward into the void, at an orbiting asteroid nearby. The energy made contact, sucking the asteroid inside, losing the rock in its dark depths. The energy then dissipated as quickly as it had appeared, leaving no visible trace of the asteroid.

"But…how…did…" Pat stammered, lost for words.

"Aha…still with all my powers…" Fate said. He held a hand forth to where the asteroid once was. Something small zoomed into his hand, and he caught it in a tight fist.

"Here, examine." Fate said, tossing the small object to Pat. It was so miniscule that Pat had to strain to see where it was. When he caught it, he gasped at what he was looking at.

The energy hadn't destroyed the asteroid; it had _compressed _it, into a rock no larger than a playground pebble. It retained it's shaped and condition, but was now about 200 times smaller than it had been before.

"_No wonder this guy was locked up…he's insane!_" Pat thought to himself in horror. He dropped the pebble and looked back at Fate, who was now gazing at him intently.

"So, would you like your reward now?" Fate asked, somewhat sadistically.

"What, are you gonna turn me into a chew toy for a mouse or something?" Pat asked aggressively.

"Oh of course not, that was just a simple test, to see if my minor abilities were still functioning correctly; apparently they are." Fate explained, grinning a little.

"_Apparently…_" Pat thought. He weighed the consequences in his head: take the reward, and risk being used, or even killed…but refuse the reward, and go back to being Vance's shadow again, and also get killed. His mind clicked a decision immediately.

"I'll take a reward. It has to be better than playing second fiddle to the insolent little ant." Pat said angrily.

"Then so be it." Fate said. He held his arms to the side, his hands starting to glow a shade of bright yellow. He then threw his arms forward, towards Pat.

Pat immediately felt the impact of power, and was lifted into the air; levitating. His body glowed brightly yellow, like a newborn star. He writhed and shook as the power soaked into his body, changing his skin and clothing in the process.

"…_So…this is power, REAL power…_" he thought to himself, and then all went black.

Now the dead of night, Vance lay sprawled across the couch, tossing and turning in his sleep. His clothes were almost soaked through with sweat as he rolled from side to side, disturbed by his mental images. He was having nightmares, but they felt real, only they weren't his own memories. He was looking into the life of a very disturbed individual.

'_Vance was standing on some kind of cliff edge, but it was underground, in a giant cavern with red-reflected walls. He had a hunch of where he might be, but wasn't sure of it yet. A small group of people stood not too far away, shrouded slightly in newly formed clouds of dust, maybe from an explosion of some sort. He immediately recognized them as most of the original Apocalyptic Elect; Joe, Lyn, Jesse, Hector, Mike, and Alicia, but there was also another man, one with bright crimson red hair garbed in blue-ish armor, his long rapier wielded in hand. _

_Mike walked forward to a collapsed tunnel, apparently the source of the floating dust, and kicked a nearby stone, muttering something inaudibly to himself. Suddenly, the tunnel burst open as the rocks cleared, and a giant demon stood in the doorway to the tunnel, bloody mouth and claws bared. _

"_These things just don't give up, do they?" Mike yelled angrily, being blasted back from the entrance. Vance's suspicions were confirmed; he was standing in Hell. _

_The man with the red hair stepped forward, his sword arm outstretched. _

"_Run…" he said to the group. Joe's face seemed to contort with understanding as the red-haired man prepared to charge. _

"_Eli, no…you can't do this!" Joe yelled to him. _

"_I said RUN!" Eli snapped back, turning to them angrily. He then faced back to the demon, which was now advancing on him. _

"_This is for you, Marcus!" Eli yelled as he charged at the demon. Vance watched as Eli sank his rapier in the fiend's gut, splashing blood everywhere, forcing the beast to fall backwards to the ground, supposedly dead. Vance could sense life still in its body, though; it was still living. _

_Eli turned to the others, apparently relieved that his idea had worked; but his relief was short-lived. Suddenly, the demons arm flew up and caught Eli around the waist, its hand easily wrapping all the way around him. It then slowly got to its feet, let out a deafening roar, and flung Eli into a nearby wall, next to the tunnel entrance. Eli smashed into the wall, a sickening and bone-shattering crack following, and he slumped to the ground. _

"_These things are ruthless!" Mike yelled in frustration. Suddenly, a beam of light shot from under Joe's shirt, colliding with the enormous beast, and sent it flying over the cliff edge, into the magma below. It was quickly engulfed in flame and was disintegrated. The group ran quickly over to Eli's body, and Lyn brought an ear to his head, listening. _

"_He's still breathing!" she yelled. Vance moved forward a few paces to get a better view. Eli's spine was apparently broken; his legs weren't moving, and blood was spurting up from his mouth. _

"_One down…" he said sarcastically, and then Vance felt the last of the life in him leave. The world began to contort and change, swirling to blackness all around. Suddenly, two shining giant yellow eyes pierced the darkness in front of him, and he awoke with a start._'

Vance shot straight up, drenched in cold sweat, eyes bloodshot. A faint glow lit the room slightly and he turned to find the source. His sword was still stuck in the wall, and was slowly pulsing a deep blue, fading as the pulsing slowed, and eventually stopped. He pondered it for a moment.

"_Eli…_" he thought to himself. It was the man that Joe had mentioned before. A great warrior; it had been a huge blow to Joe's esteem after he died, apparently. He then focused on the sword again.

"_That was no dream…that was one of Joe's memories. That's why it was so vivid." _Vance thought. The sword was apparently bridging Joe's old memories into Vance's mind subconsciously.

Vance lifted himself off of the couch slowly, being sure not to make himself light headed, and walked over to the now dim sword. He clutched the hilt and swiftly removed it from the wall, throwing it across the room, next to the couch. It landed with a loud clang on the floor.

With the sudden moment of clarity, he realized that his clawed hand throbbed in agony. He massaged it at the wrist joint, hoping for any kind of relief. He made his way over to the stairs, slowly climbing up to the others' rooms to tell them what had just happened.

Pat didn't know how long he'd been out for; all he knew was blackness. The only thing he could hear was a rhythmic moving of air, in and out.

"_Someone breathing…"_ he thought to himself, "_Guess that means I'm awake._" He slowly tried to move, pushing himself up with his hands, getting to his feet and maintaining balance.

Fate was sitting a few feet away, his legs curled underneath him in indian-style sitting.

"Hard to remember, hard to forget…That is what you will become, Dark One" Fate said as Pat's head cleared.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Pat asked, holding his head. He gasped as he heard his voice; it sounded like him, but it also sounded as if there was another voice talking as he spoke, mutating his voice into a demonic drone.

"You will do the bidding of the righteous. Sinners must be eliminated. Only then will I be completely released from this prison. A favor, if you will, for the reward I have just bestowed upon you" Fate replied, staring intently. Pat stared for a moment in thought; he knew there was more to this plan than what Fate was telling him, but something in his head told him to listen.

"Yes, master. I will do so…" Pat said, bowing slightly.

"Sounds to me like Joe gave you a little gift before he died" Sain said to Vance.

"Yeah, a gift that seems to be determined to drive me to insanity" Vance replied, staring out the cracked window. A cool night-time breeze was blowing in through it, sending small shivers down Vance's spine, but he enjoyed it.

He explained to them the dream, the vividness, the glowing sword, and his throbbing hand. They were trying to piece together a plausible explanation.

"It sounds to me like he was trying to give you a slight advantage over our enemy. Instead of having to wonder about what they've done, you now know it like you lived it" Kristine suggested.

"Actually, I don't think he purposely meant to give you his memories. Remember, when he gave up his power, he said that he relinquished the _power _of the Bloodline, not his memories. I think the memories were just a little add-on to what you received" Erk explained. Vance simply stared out of the window at the moon, deep in thought.

Why would Joe drop this kind of burden on him? Was it not what got him killed in the fight against Hakalahs? He was snapped out of it by a shake on the shoulder by Anna.

"You okay?" she asked curiously.

"Yeah, my claw's stopped throbbing, so I think I'm ready to get some sleep now. I'll see you all in the morning" Vance said, getting up. They all said their departures and went back to bed. Although everyone else slept peacefully through the rest of the night, Vance kept awaking with the feeling that something in the world was off balance, and that the worst of their fears had only just begun.

Everyone got up first thing in the morning, ready to continue their persistent quest. The autumn breeze passed in through the window and washed over Vance's face as he lay awake on the couch, staring at the ceiling. The chill was enough to make him finally sit up fully and rub the sleep out of his eyes.

He looked around for a moment and took in everything in the room. There was a giant slit out of the wall where his sword had stuck, which was now lying next to the couch where he threw it. Everyone else was still upstairs; showering and getting ready for the day, which left him down in the living room all by himself. He flipped on the television and sat back a little in the couch, watching the screen lazily.

He flipped through the channels until one caught his eye, and he stopped and turned up the volume.

"…Over the past night, there have been a number of brutal murders, fires, and assaults all over the tri-county area, sending whole neighborhoods into raging panics as citizens cry for some kind of help. It is believed that the ones responsible are an organized crime group with a definite vendetta in mind for each crime they commit. More news on this tonight at ten" the reporter on the television said, and then faded away to a commercial.

Vance's hand lowered to the couch, the remote still clutched in it. He didn't want to know who this person was, although a part of him already knew it. He shut the television off quickly and raced up the stairs. He banged on Sain's and Erk's bedroom door violently, thinking they might still be asleep. The door opened to a surprised looking Sain, half dressed.

"Whoa, where's the fire, buddy?" Sain joked.

"We have to go. Soon. There have been killings and burnings. We need to find that chamber, and soon" Vance demanded shortly. Sain stared at him for a moment, apparently considering Vance's words in his head. He then silently walked away from the door and pulled a shirt over his head, nudging Erk's motionless leg on the bed in the process.

"Hey, super lump, get up, we gotta move" Sain said to Erk as he gathered his sword. Erk's head poked out from under the cover and he looked at the alarm clock on the end table.

"Oh come on, it's only 9 o'clock…" Erk complained, slamming the pillow over his head.

"There's trouble, we gotta go" Sain persisted, taking the pillow off Erk's head and throwing it onto his own bed. Erk grumbled something inaudibly, grabbed an armful of clothes and slumped off into the bathroom.

20 minutes later, Vance had informed and assembled everyone downstairs in the living room. They were sitting on the sofa, waiting for Vance to come downstairs with his gear. He came downstairs looking as if he had lost something. He then noticed his sword lying next to the couch and realization hit him like a wave.

"I wondered where that went to…" he said, picking it up and sheathing it. "Everyone ready to go?" he asked, looking to everyone. They all nodded consent, and headed for the door. They congregated into a circle in front of the house, and then were gone a flash of bright purple light.

When the light faded, they were engulfed in darkness and cold. Snow slapped against their faces like whips, melting as it touched their flesh.

"Vance, do you know where we're going this time?" Anna called over the billowing of the winds.

"Almost one hundred percent sure" Vance replied, starting to walk. They trekked through the knee-deep snow for about an hour when they came to a giant cliff-face, sheeted with ice.

"Dead end" Kristine said.

"Don't be so quick to react…" Vance said softly. He walked up to the wall of ice and began knocking on the ice systematically, doing one spot, then moving a few paces and trying the next spot. After five minutes, he finally stopped, staring at the ice wall for a moment. He then unsheathed his sword and shoved it into the ice wall. Nothing happened at first, but then Vance closed his eyes, and his sword began to glow purple.

"Get down!" he yelled to the others. They all ducked and covered their heads just as a hole exploded in the wall, sending ice shrapnel flying in all directions.

"…Good going" Erk said awestruck, brushing pieces of ice out of his hair.

"Definitely took us long enough" Vance said, sheathing his sword again. They approached the new opening cautiously; not knowing what would be awaiting them inside. After a foot or two of ice covering, the cave gave way to stone, erected carefully in giant, grand arches, embedded with bright jewels and hand-carved runes. Erk held his hand up and a small flame appeared, lighting the tunnel in front of them with light.

They made their way down the stairs, trekking deeper and deeper into the cold earth. They finally came to a stone door, encrusted with the same jewels and runes as the archways; rubies, sapphires, and emeralds. Vance put both hands on the door and gave a swift push. The stone hinges creaked and cracked but opened almost effortlessly into the main chamber.

The first thing they noticed walking in was the coating of ice over everything, making the chamber glow eerily blue. Erk threw a small fireball into a brazier hanging from the ceiling, and the chamber burst with light, reflecting off of the icy walls and gemmed floor. Every surface in the room except the giant main door on the other side of the chamber and the floor were covered in ice. The floor was a faded grey stone, and the giant door was a brilliant, glowing gold.

"Exactly as he saw it…" Vance said exasperated. There were four stone columns in the room, two on either side, all sheeted in ice like the rest of the chamber, and a pedestal in the center of the room, raised to about waist-height. Through the ice sheet on the wall, they could see blurred markings and runes on the walls, obscured by the ice. Vance made his way alone towards the door while the others investigated the chamber.

There were three hexagonal slots on the door, formed into the shape of a right-side-up triangle. He pulled Hakalahs' pendent out of his pocket and looked at it for a moment. Black blood was still smeared over the face of it, hindering its golden shine. He raised it to the door, and slid it into one of the slots.

It fit perfectly into place with a small click. The seams around the edges of the pendent glowed brightly yellow for a moment, and then dimmed, leaving no traces of the open seams. The room began to tremble slightly, and the ice began to dimly glow red, casting an eerie, bloody glow around the room. It then settled back to normal, and the blue glow restored back to the room.

"I take it that it worked?" Anna asked, walking towards the door.

"Yeah, now we need to find my father, and we're good to go" Vance said, turning from the giant doors.

"But, aren't there three slots on the door? What about the third pendant?" Kristine asked, joining Anna and Vance.

"You guys aren't very attentive, are you?" he asked, pulling out a twine necklace from under his shirt. On the end of the necklace dangled a gold pendant, glowing dimly blue in the reflection of the ice.

"Where'd you get that from?" Sain asked curiously.

"I've had it for ages, since this whole ordeal began. I don't really remember the details at the moment" Vance said, tucking it back into his shirt. They stood in silence for a moment, when suddenly, Vance's head exploded in pain and he clutched his fists to his forehead, his knuckles white with pressure. He screamed in agony as fiery visions raced through his head.

"Vance! What is it?" Erk yelled, trying to help him stand up straight again.

"Something's…about to happen…" Vance said weakly, the pain slowly subsiding. Just as he stood up straight, there was another tremble that shook the entire cave around them.

"Good timing" Sain said, unsheathing his sword. They ran towards the stairs of the chamber, and up and out into the freezing tundra once again.

The air above them was circling in a giant typhoon of flame, reflecting orange and yellow off of the snow around them. In the center of the storm was a small black dot, presumably the one responsible for the mayhem. As it lowered towards the ground, Vance gasped as he realized who it was.

Pat was now floating towards them, surrounded by flame and shadow. His skin had turned a dark, midnight blue and his eyes glowed brightly yellow. His clothes were black and slightly torn, and he had a giant sword strapped to his back, about three quarters of the size of his body. His hair was now much longer and swiped back flat over his head, and it was no longer brown; but dark navy blue, like his skin, only a tint darker.

"I'm glad to have found you, Vance. There is much that needs to be said before the end" Pat announced as he touched down on the soft snow. His voice was a demonic drone, a strange, cold voice mixed with his regular voice, giving the impression that two people were talking as he spoke. The flames subsided around him as he stood, but the shadows and flame typhoon stayed as strong as they had been before, if not stronger.

Vance clutched his clawed hand tightly; it throbbed worse than the previous night by a tenfold.

"I've been appointed by a higher power to cleanse this world of people like you, people who sin without shame" Pat said, advancing towards them.

"You think he's bluffing?" Sain asked, unsheathing his sword.

"No, his power is immense. At least twice what Nate's was when he died" Vance said, unsheathing his own sword and clutching it firmly in his good hand. Pat reached over his left shoulder and pulled the sword off of his back, still advancing.

"You have no idea of who you're dealing with here, maggot" Pat said cruelly, his voice even colder. He suddenly burst forward with speed, his sword poised over his shoulder.

Vance only had enough time to put his blade up in defense before Pat slammed into it, the cling of metal on metal ringing through the billowing winds. Vance was forced back a few yards before Pat pushed off with his blade and flew backwards again, away from Vance. Vance readied his sword and charged towards Pat, poised to attack.

Clanging rang out again as slashes were made back and forth. Both of them made a very powerful swipe at each other, which resulted in a momentary deadlock between the swords. Vance looked straight into Pat's eyes as he forced his sword towards Pat's. He saw nothing but the yellow glow and emptiness; Pat was truly gone.

Vance broke the lock and jumped back immediately, avoiding Pat's slash. Vance closed his eyes for a moment and began to glow purple, channeling energy through his body from his mind. When he opened his eyes, they were glowing purple, along with his sword. Vance then charged again at Pat, starting another attack.

They exchanged overpowering glances at each other, each parried by the sword of the other, followed by another attack. Vance made a quick mistake, which resulted in a bash in the side of the head by the flat of Pat's blade. He flew backwards a few feet and landed in the freezing snow, blood trickling down his temple.

"Vance!" Anna screamed, starting to run towards him, but Kristine caught her arm.

"Pat'll kill you, he's too strong" she said, holding Anna back.

"She's right, Anna, he'll rip you apart" Sain said, staring at Vance attempting to get back up. Vance struggled to steady himself, but eventually he got his sword back into position and began a slow advance towards Pat, clearing his head along the way. As he reached Pat, he made a quick swipe, but hit nothing but air. He turned around quickly, but not fast enough to prevent another hit from Pat, sending him flying back another ten feet.

"We have to do something! He's going to get killed!" Anna yelled, still being restrained by Kristine. Vance got up again slowly, blood steadily trickling from his nose. He then suddenly dropped to the ground again, dropping his sword and clutching his clawed hand, screaming in agony.

His eyes began to glow brightly white, and the scaly skin from his hand began to grow up his arm and spread over his body. Wings began to sprout from his shoulder blades and horns from his head, black as the sky above him. Claws sprouted from the fingertips on his good hand, and his joints twisted and grew thick and bulky. Vance's transformation was complete, and he gave out a huge deafening roar into the night sky.

He flew blindingly fast at Pat and started swiping and clawing furiously at his face and arms. Pat deflected every swipe except for the last attempt at his arm, resulting in huge claw-shaped gashes on his arm. Blood poured from the wound and stained the snow red. Vance jumped and drop kicked Pat backwards, sending him flying. Pat did a few aerial flips and landed on his feet.

"Hm, an unforeseen complication. This will definitely be taken into account next time. Until then, farewell, young sinner" Pat said, lifting off of the ground. He then flew up into the flaming typhoon in the sky, and disappeared, along with the flame and shadow. Vance then turned his gaze on the others standing nearby, blinded by rage and bloodlust.

"Vance? It's us, buddy; your friends" Erk said, slowly backing up. Vance advanced towards them, slowly lifting into the air as he came closer. Just as he reached them and his claw was fully raised, his eyes began to dim, and he lowered to the ground again. His skin began to change back, along with his wings, horns, claw, and joints. Soon, Vance was kneeling in front of them, completely winded.

"Sorry guys, I could see what I was doing but I couldn't stop it" he said, getting to his feet. Blood now covered the right side of his head and the lower half of his face from his nose. He turned and quickly got his sword from where it had fallen. He lifted his head and took a step back in shock.

A hooded figure was standing about 20 feet away from him, standing stationary in the billowing gales. Vance poised his sword quickly, on his guard.

"Who are you?" he called over the winds, as the others ran up behind him.

"No one important" the figure said. It had a hoarse, woman's voice, and was hunched over slightly.

"Then what do you want?" Vance asked, dropping his guard slightly; this woman didn't seem to be any threat.

"To help you" she said, taking a small step forward.

"How can you help us?" Vance asked.

"I know where you must go" she said simply. At these words, Vance sheathed his sword.

"How do you know?" he asked curiously, not breaking his gaze from her.

"That's not important. What is is that this world is in mortal danger again, and only you five can stop it" she said, slowly walking towards them. She radiated a certain power, despite her age.

"That sword you carry, Vance, is the key to the next and last pendant. Its powers of memory will serve you quite well in the hours to come" she continued, still walking.

"Powers of memory?" Vance asked, baffled.

"Those visions in your sleep _were _conjured by the sword, Vance, and it has powers beyond that as well. You just simply need to learn to hone them, and fast" the woman explained, almost right in front of him now.

"And how am I supposed to do that?" he asked, almost in a whisper now. She stopped in front of him, staring intently at him. He couldn't see a face, but knew she was looking at him.

"Your father has powers beyond your own. He can travel through time with ease. I know where he's gone, and that's where you need to go, what you need to know" she explained, also softly.

"And how will I learn?" he asked curiously.

"I will help you" she said. She raised a hand, and placed it on the side of his face.

"Look how you've grown. Don't let me down" she said quietly. She then started glowing softly, and disappeared into Vance where her hand had been placed. Vance glowed red for a moment, then faded back dim once again. Vance stood shocked for a moment, mentally going over what had just happened.

"Vance! Who was that?" Erk called as they all ran towards him.

"Mom…" Vance whispered inaudibly to himself.

"What?" Sain asked.

"No one, just a crazy prophet" he said quickly.

"Okay then, where to now?" Anna asked.

"Not where, but when" Vance said mysteriously, looking at his hands. They all huddled up and teleported back to the house.

"He has escaped, master" Pat said shortly. He was back in Fate's lair, kneeling in front of Fate himself.

"No need to fret, Dark One, there will be other opportunities. Though I have a feeling that transformed state of his will come in handy for us at one point or another" Fate said, more to himself than to Pat.

"What is the plan now?" Pat asked, getting to his feet.

"There is one I must find, one who will make me stronger than any God could wish to be" Fate said, looking up into the void above him.

"What will you have me do, master?" Pat asked.

"I would have you bring him to me, but unfortunately, he's dead, and his remains do me no good. I need his soul, but that is locked away in the depths of Tartarus as of now" Fate explained, pacing back and forth.

"But I thought Tartarus was simply to lock away the Titans?" Pat asked.

"It was, but this being rivals the power of the Titans by a tenfold" Fate explained, "His power is simply…incomplete at the moment. But his power combined with mine would complete the utmost feared power in the universe" Fate finished, looking at Pat with a crazed malice in his eyes. Pat understood right away.

"What will you have me do, master?"

They all sat in the living room, quiet as the night.

"So we have to time travel to find your father?" Erk asked.

"Yeah. And according to the old lady's thoughts, he's in the last place any of us would have thought him to be at" Vance said, staring at the ground.

"Where is he at?" Sain asked curiously.

"Your world" he replied, looking up into Sain's face. His jaw dropped at Vance's words.

"But…how could he be? When we left the world about two years ago, it was covered in lava!" Erk protested, getting to his feet.

"It was a ploy, Erk. Do you really think just the volcanic region could have covered the earth in _that _much magma? True, volcanoes did erupt, but the world was only covered in about two feet of lava, just enough to kill most of the civilization and foliage on the planet, according to the prophet" Vance explained, "Apocalypse used another of his powers to make the illusion when you guys supposedly 'killed' him, though in my opinion I think you guys just injured him" Vance finished.

"So we were duped into leaving our own world?" Erk asked.

"Basically, yeah" Vance finished.

"So, where to now? To our world, right?" Sain asked, stretching his legs out in front of him.

"It would seem that way, but I have to make a stop first, and it looks like you guys have to come with me this time" Vance said, standing up and checking that all his gear was on him.

"A stop where?" Kristine asked.

"Let's just call it the 'library'" Vance replied, walking towards the door. They gathered out in front and teleported away once more.

They reappeared in the cemetery that Vance visited only mere days beforehand.

"Why are we here?" Anna asked, looking around the area. They all had attended the service when the 6 were buried here.

"For guidance" Vance replied simply. He walked with the rest of them up to the normal grave, and Vance closed his eyes in concentration, seeing nothing but his brother in his mind. A glowing visage appeared over Joe's grave, and everyone gasped as the form of Joe appeared in the air in front of Vance, not a day older than when he was buried.

"Oh look, the whole gang's here this time…except one, where's Pat?" Joe asked curiously.

"He's gone, Joe, he joined the other side, so we're down to five of us" Vance explained. He then launched into the story about the chamber and the fight with Pat and the old woman. He then told Joe about the sword's powers, and how it was to help them next.

"Well, sounds like you got a handful on this one, buddy. I had no idea about the sword though, even though I knew there was _something_ special about it" Joe said.

"Yeah, it's giving me all of your old memories. I saw Eli die last night in my sleep…" Vance said softly. Joe looked intently at his brother.

"I'm sorry you had to see that, but I had to live through it which was probably just as bad. But anyway, so you guys have to go back to Lyn and Eli's world to find dad?" Joe asked.

"Yeah, and it looks like the sword helps us with that, and according to the old lady, your headstone is the portal key" Vance said.

"Well, have a look if you want; I was dead when they made it so I have no idea what it may do" Joe joked. Vance walked forward and looked around the face of the headstone. He noticed nothing at first and was about to give up when something caught his eye.

He looked over "Joe" on the headstone and noticed something odd. In the 'O', there was a cross inside it with four equal arms, extending from the middle to each edge of the letter, and where each arm met, was a small ruby embedded into the stone.

"I think I've got it" Vance announced, stepping back from the headstone.

"Well, if it works, good luck to you guys, you'll need it. Don't underestimate Apocalypse, he's so much stronger than he looks" Joe advised.

"Thanks, bro" Vance said.

"It was good to see you again, Joe" Sain said, looking up into his face.

"You too, guys. Maybe it'll happen again…" Joe said, and then the image dissipated. Vance reached into his pocket and pulled out another coin, which he flipped into the soft dirt in front of Joe's grave.

"What was that for?" Erk asked.

"A penny for his thoughts" Vance said mysteriously. No one noticed the coin absorb into the dirt once again. Vance then unsheathed his sword and turned towards the grave.

"I'm not quite sure what's going to happen, guys, so you might want to stand back a little" Vance said, pointing his sword to the headstone. They backed away a little from Vance, leaving him standing about eight feet from the headstone. He then closed his eyes and thought to himself.

'_What am I supposed to do now?_' he thought to himself.

"_I'll take care of that…_" the woman said in his head. Vance's eyes then shot open, and he began chanting an unknown language, in the voice of the old lady. His sword began to glow red, just as the ruby on the grave did. A small pink beam shot from the end of his blade and connected with the ruby on the grave, sending lines of pink light out that etched into the lines on the grave.

First, the arms of the cross lit up along with the 'O'. Then, other markings began to appear on the grave; symbols and letters of a language Vance didn't understand. They were as beautiful as they were mysterious. The light finally stopped spreading as the last symbol was formed. The headstone was now covered in pink glowing runes and letters that pulsed brighter and brighter. The rest of the grave then began glowing a light green that also pulsed brighter and brighter, like a heart beating.

A dark green beam then shot from the grave into the green sky above, making a chain from the vast sky to the grave. Vance raised the sword and the giant beam stayed in place, confirming that the chain was complete.

"This is it, the portal stands open…" Vance whispered to himself. The others walked up behind him, transfixed by the glow of the portal.

"Is this it? The portal to the other world?" Anna asked curiously.

"Yeah, let's get going before it closes or something" Vance said, sheathing his sword. They all ran forward and stepped into the brilliant green light.

"Master, I've lost traces of all five of them on Earth; they've left that realm" Pat said, opening his eyes.

"Good, then all goes according to plan" Fate said, staring off into the void. The stars moved slowly against the black backdrop.

"What are we to do next?" Pat asked.

"We wait until they have the pendant, then we make a few adjustments of our own" Fate explained, not looking away. Pat stared at Fate for a moment. What was he planning and how did he work into it all? Surely he knew what he was doing.

"Does Vance have anything to do with your plan, master?" Pat asked curiously.

"Of course, he's the king in this little chess game. The soul I need can't be gathered by anyone but him. And believe me, this is one piece that will never checkmate…" Fate finished.

They were spinning in circles in midair, brilliant green and blue light blinding them from all sides. Vance's stomach began churning and he wanted nothing more than for it to stop. He was just about to lose his breakfast when he hit solid ground, smacking the side of his head against the ground. The wounds Pat had left were still sore, and the bandages didn't offer much padding between the wounds and the hard ground.

After clearing his head from the shock, he got to his feet and brushed himself off. He looked around and gasped at his surroundings.

The world around him was an extremely sad sight to behold; the ground everywhere was black and ashy, apparently dried magma. Burned and charred trees and plants stood everywhere, some almost buried to their tops in ash. The wind mixed the air with ash and sulfur, making areas of the world inhabitable from inhalants. Skeletons of animals lay everywhere, charred and burned from magma.

"This place isn't a home anymore…" Sain said, taking in everything. Not even the blowing winds made a sound. Everything was dead silent.

"Judging by the size of this place and the absence of a lot of trees, I'd say we're in that giant field I told you about before" Sain said.

"Alright, so where would you suggest going?" Vance asked.

"I'd say his old tower would be the most likely place to find him" Erk suggested.

"Sounds about right to me" Sain agreed.

"Okay, then let's go" Vance said, walking forward. They started across the barren wastes, taking in the grey sky and black land around them.

"So you guys actually lived here?" Kristine asked Erk and Sain, her brown hair being blown around in the winds.

"We didn't live here exactly, we lived quite a few miles west of here, in a city that looked quite similar to Vance's at the time" Sain explained, "But then Joe and Nate showed up, and, well, things definitely changed" he finished, a little depressed.

"It looks like we've already gone passed the mountainous area, so we have some forest to trek through, then the volcanic, desert, forested and costal regions until we get to his island, though I doubt we'll be able to distinguish the areas from each other by the looks of this place…" Erk said, indicating around.

They made their way over the massive slab of land until they reached a very depressing sight. They found the forest area, but all that remained was a bunch of burned trees with mangled branches; no green anywhere. They trekked through the ghostly visage, passing under low-hanging branches and over stray roots. They then came to a gigantic ditch in the ground, about 10 feet deep, filled with what looked like dried magma.

"I remember this place…" Sain said, staring into the ditch.

"Yeah, Lyn almost got killed here. Someone cut down the bridge while we were crossing. This used to be a bottomless pit, that's why we needed a bridge to get across" Erk explained. They could still see the posts at either end of the ditch, supposedly where the rope bridge would have connected at.

The sword began to glow blue in its sheath at Vance's side, and Vance stopped dead in his tracks, a new memory soaking into his mind.

'_He could see the group crossing towards him over a rickety rope bridge, connected over a giant hole in the ground. They conversed to themselves as the crossed. _

"_Are you doing okay?" Joe asked to Lyn. Vance could see from the look on his face that he was uncomfortable with the situation. _

"_Yeah, I'm fine. I've always enjoyed being up high. It's always made me feel, I don't know, powerful somehow" she replied. _

"_Oh, that's good…" Joe said. _

"_Are _you _alright?" she asked him teasingly. _

"_Not really, I'm getting a really weird feeling, like something bad is going to happen" he answered. Vance then felt a small tremor run through the ground beneath him. The others felt it as well. _

"_Not MORE of them?" Mike said, his hand going to his spear. _

"_No, it's coming from below…" Joe said, almost breathlessly. Joe looked down over the edge of the bridge and panic instantly spelled itself over his face. Vance then noticed a dark figure across the bridge, standing menacingly at the side of a post where the rope was connected to. _

"_It's erupting! Run, NOW!" Joe screamed at the others. They all began pushing forward on the bridge, frantically trying to get to the other side. The figure at the start of the bridge sliced one of the ropes, and the bridge slackened dramatically, slowing the group's progress. Joe apparently noticed and took a look back. The dark figure was just about to cut the last rope as Joe noticed him. _

"_Hurry! Someone's cutting down the bridge!" Joe yelled to the others. They began stepping off the bridge just as the blade hit the rope. They all made it off except Lyn, who was then plummeted down towards the upcoming magma. She grabbed onto the edge of the hole as the bridge fell completely. _

_Vance ran to the edge of the hole, knowing that no one could see him, and looked at the dark figure. As Joe pulled Lyn out from the hole, the magma burst forth out of the hole, and the figure's face was illuminated for a split second. _

_Vance looked in awe as a younger visage of Hakalahs stood before him, then the memory went black._'

Vance snapped back suddenly, and everyone was standing around him.

"You okay there?" Sain asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine, just another memory is all" Vance said, taking a step forward. They climbed down the edge of the hole to the solid rock below.

"This is definitely a lot easier than last time" Erk said sarcastically as they crossed the hole.

"You know, we never did find out who cut down that bridge" Sain said, indicating with his thumb to the posts behind them. They were blackened and burned, but standing nonetheless.

"It was Hakalahs. I saw him in the memory" Vance said without slowing or looking back. Sain shrugged casually at the words.

"I had a feeling it was him, but we were never completely sure about it" he said as they reached the other side of the hole. They hefted each other up out of the hole and continued through the rest of the foliage, which was even more charred than the rest of the area; apparently from the extra eruption, Vance assumed.

They came to a small riverbed that had been was drastically shallower from being filled with magma so many times, then right on the riverbank, they passed under a burned bronze archway, which Vance assumed was the entrance to the volcanic region. Sain and Erk gasped as they passed under the bronze arch.

Where the volcanic region had been that fateful day with the fight between Joe and Hakalahs, there was now nothing, nothing but a giant hole in the ground about a mile in diameter. They could see no bottom to it; only a dark pitfall, threatening any victim to a never-ending tumble to their doom.

"I had forgotten about this…" Erk said, looking around in total awe.

"What, that the volcanic region is nothing but a giant volcano?" Anna asked.

"No, that Hakalahs blew it all up the day he and Joe fought for the first time" Erk answered. They all looked in awe at the hole.

"How are we supposed to cross it?" Kristine asked.

"I'll teleport us across; I can see the other side from here" Vance said. He closed his eyes and jolted them across the hole to the other side. When the light dimmed, they were looking at the hole from the other side, and continued their journey. They found a trail that went slightly uphill, away from the volcanic region, and towards the second bronze arch; signaling the end of the region. They found the arch, and saw that it was embedded into a tunnel, presumably to reach the next region.

"The desert is next" Sain announced as they entered the tunnel. Vance's eyes glowed white faintly to light their way through the tunnel.

"This is where Lyn literally stumbled upon the prophecy about the Life Essence. It was a stone slab she tripped over, but it helped them immensely a little over a year ago, in the resistance against Satan" Erk said.

Vance was tuning them out at this point; he knew that more memories would only trigger the sword to show him more. They exited the tunnel a few minutes later and found themselves in what used to be a desert; rolling hills covered in black rock, ash billowing everywhere in the winds. They continued through the desert until they reached a big hill quite a few feet tall. They climbed over it and took in the view from the top.

They were standing on the edge of an old battlefield; empty armor lay mangled in the dried magma, burned and blackened. Spears and swords stuck up from the rock, monuments to their old owner's lives.

"Dead guardians. This is where we had another fight with them, after the encounter with Hakalahs" Erk explained as they slid down the other side of the hill. They trekked over the armor and wreckage, and found themselves at another dead forest, which looked eerily like the first one. They continued through it for a few minutes and finally reached the coastal region.

The sound of waves was the most inviting sound any of them could have wished for. There was still water there, but it was black and left ashy silt on the shoreline with every passing wave.

"The water's contaminated, I wouldn't suggest swimming" Anna said, taking a quick smell of the air.

"How do we get across then?" Vance asked, "I can only teleport us if I can see where I'm going, or if I've been there before" Vance finished. He could see the tower in the distance, a small speck on the horizon. Clouds circled around the top of it, just like in his dreams.

"I have an idea…" Erk said. He walked up to the shoreline, and put his hands in front of him. He chanted something under his breath, and his hands began glowing blue. A beam of bright light shot out from his palms at the water, and a pathway of ice formed itself over the waters. The ice was grey and dull from the ash in the water, and it extended all the way across the ocean.

"It shouldn't be too slippery because of the ash in it" Erk said, making a few fairly strong stomps on the ice. It held fast and didn't budge an inch. Convinced, they all stepped onto it and began across the waters.

It took them the better part of an hour to cross over the water, but when they did, they were all relieved to finally be on solid land again. They then took in the sight of the tower in front of them.

It was an enormous onyx tower, rising tens of stories into the air, straight into the billowing winds and clouds above. The giant onyx stone door stood before them; a final warning before the plunge. Vance gave an insisting push, and the doors creaked open, years of disuse now showing through.

The lobby was just as it had been those years before, except now everything was covered in a layer of cobwebs and dust, and there was a giant hole in the middle of the floor where the flame demon Ifrit had fallen after being defeated by Joe.

The smell of old, musty fabric hit their faces as they entered the building, making them lightheaded for a moment or two. They cautiously wound around the hole and made their way to the staircase that wound around the perimeter of the tower, leading up to the chamber above. They quickly made their way up the stairs, trying not to waste anymore time than they already had. They got to the top in about ten minutes, and stopped momentarily to catch their breath.

Vance could sense, rather than see, that the sun was setting; it would become even darker in there if they didn't hurry up. They approached the next giant doorway, this one made of wood with a black metal border around it.

"Okay, guys, there's no telling who are what will be waiting in there for us, but either way it can't be good. Be on guard, always" Vance said, unsheathing his sword. They all nodded and prepared to enter. Vance shoved the door open and walked in.

The roof of the room was missing, so winds billowed around the open space at the top of the tower. Across the room, Vance could see someone standing at the edge of the room, looking out over the land. As they walked forward slowly, he could see it was his father.

Apocalypse stood there, staring out over the vast expanse of dead land and ocean, looking almost dazed.

"I wondered when you'd find me, Vance, it certainly has been a while" he said, turning towards them. "You've even brought some familiar faces with you. Hello Sain and Erk" he said, greeting them by name.

"Don't even think my name, you bastard" Sain said coldly, unsheathing his sword.

"No need to be rude now, we're all…acquaintances here" he said, taking a step towards them. Vance raised an arm towards him, holding him in his place so he couldn't advance closer.

"Don't even think about it, old man" Vance said, his eyes glowing purple.

"Now is that any way to treat your father?" Apocalypse asked sarcastically.

"You're not my father, not anymore. You may have his face, but his soul is gone, it died when you took his body, you bastard" Vance droned. Apocalypse chuckled slightly.

"So much like your brother, but so much stronger. I guess there's no need to even try to convince you to join me. You're so much more strong willed than he was. He had a spine, but you…you have a back of steel that no one can bend" Apocalypse said, taking a step forward through Vance's mental restraint.

"Why aren't you in your normal monstrous shape like you normally are?" Erk asked, not out of curiosity, only to stall for time while Vance could charge power.

"I find this form much easier to move in. Two legs are much better than four giant claws and wings" Apocalypse joked.

"You seem quite chipper for someone who recently lost one of their most powerful allies, _father dearest_" Vance taunted, letting down the restraint, seeing as how it was useless.

"Hakalahs was expendable, and besides, Satan's already loose, is he not? Our plan was completed, but now I've seen the uselessness of it" Apocalypse said, almost depressed, and looked back out into the scope of the land.

"And why do you say that? The earth is in turmoil, isn't that what you wanted?" Anna asked, brandishing her own sword.

"Yes it is, but it's always a little disheartening to know that you were used all along in your own plan" Apocalypse said mysteriously, not breaking his gaze.

"How do you figure?" Vance asked, this time in full curiosity.

"Our plan was our own, but our actions were planned by another, someone even higher than Satan" he explained.

"There is no one higher than Satan, unless you mean…" Kristine started, oak bow in hand.

"No, I don't mean God, I mean the puller of strings; planner of plans" Apocalypse said.

"I don't get you" Vance conceded.

"FATE YOU IGNORANT LITTLE…" Apocalypse screamed angrily at them, his eyes flashing with flames momentarily, but he calmed himself immediately.

"The Fates used us for an even bigger plot, a plan the puts the release of Satan in league with two year olds plotting an escape from a playpen" Apocalypse said, composure regained.

"So you're saying releasing Satan was pointless now?!" Erk asked, anger beginning to boil up in his stomach.

"In a way, yes. It was all part of a bigger plan, one that will probably see this world's and your world's ends" Apocalypse said with a bit of finality in his voice.

"That's enough! I didn't come here to chat with you, dad, I came here to finish what Joe started" Vance started angrily.

"Well unfortunately for you, I have unfinished business with an old friend to take care of before my end, so you'll all just have to wait. Here, I have an idea; educate yourselves a little on my little speech earlier. Maybe if you see what I've seen, you'll understand" Apocalypse said, turning to them once more.

He raised his arms towards them, and before any of them had time to react, a blinding yellow light engulfed them and sent them spiraling into nothingness. They spiraled and flipped, much like when they arrived in the world.

Then there was dark.

"They've been sent, master. Shall I go now?" Pat asked, sitting cross-legged in the void, eyes closed.

"Wait a few hours. Let them figure out what's happened to them. Then we'll start the transfiguring. The transporter has to be perfected before they reach their own time again, got it?" Fate asked, almost demandingly.

"Yes master, I will do so" Pat replied, and disappeared in a flash.

They landed hard on solid earth once again, all piled on top of one another. Vance felt grass beneath him, so he knew they were no longer in the same world, but where they were, he wasn't sure. They got up and untangled themselves from each other, cleared their heads and brushed themselves off. Then they took in their surroundings.

They were standing on a hill that was on the edge of a small city, booming with factories, houses and cars. The smell of exhaust reached their noses even from a mile outside the city.

"We…we're back, in our old city" Sain said, sheathing his sword and looking over the city in awe.

"Back home you mean?" Vance asked, sheathing his sword as well.

"No, I mean, back on _our_ own world, in _our_ own time" Sain said. Erk walked up next to him.

"You're right, I recognize this place. I mean, I lived in a small village filled with people like me, but, I've been here before" he said, looking out over the expanse of city.

"But how could that happen? I thought your city went into turmoil once Apocalypse took control" Vance asked.

"It did, but I guess your father sent us back in time somehow, back to before he took control. How far back, though, I couldn't tell you yet" Sain said.

"He _did _say that he wanted us to learn about what he was talking about; maybe this will help us somehow" Kristine added.

"Let's explore a bit" Vance said, starting down the hill. They made their way towards the city, not knowing where to go or who to talk to, but knowing all the same that they needed to find out how far back they had been sent.

They walked down a bustling street, filled with businessmen and women, young children horse playing down the sidewalks, cars racing passed, and neon lights illuminating the streets.

"In our time, guns were outlawed, that's why swords and bows were preferred, but our technology surpassed your own by decades and decades of advancement. We were quite a ways into the future, after all" Erk explained. A newspaper blew down the street by them and Vance grabbed it quickly.

"Looks like we're about 13 years before Joe and Nate got here. Which is quite close to the time that Apocalypse took control" Sain said, reading over Vance's shoulder.

"So there's no hope of meeting Joe anywhere?" Vance asked, a little let down.

"Not as far as I can see, but as I'm sure we've all learned by now, you should always expect the unexpected" Sain replied, taking the paper and throwing it in a stone trash can nearby.

"So where to now?" Anna asked.

"I guess we should find our old headquarters and see if it even exists yet" Sain said.

"That shouldn't be too hard, you spent quite a lot of time there, didn't-" Anna started, but she was cut off by a huge explosion about a half mile north of them. They ran towards it instinctively, not knowing if it was a calling towards them or not.

The top half of a skyscraper was slowly falling towards the ground, apparently separated by the huge explosion they had just heard. They looked up into the sky and saw a giant black form floating around, shooting purple charges at random buildings, causing more explosions.

Vance was just about to unsheathe his sword, when a small black figure flew into the air from their left. It was so far away they couldn't distinguish what or who it was, but it was apparently someone good, for he began attacking the giant shadow. Just then, another form flew up from the opposite side and also began attacking the shadow.

They all watched in shock as the two figures shot beams of light and energy at the shadow, and swiped at it furiously with blades that moved so fast they were almost invisible. Eventually, the shadow fell to the ground and disintegrated, and the two figures flew towards the edge of the city.

"Come on! We have to follow them. They're _obviously _who my father wanted us to find. But don't let them see you, it could and probably would screw up the timeline" Vance said, breaking into a run. The others followed and they made their way to the city's exit.

They exited the city and found themselves in a giant open field, covered with deep green grass on flowing hills. The two figures could be seen a few hundred feet away, conversing among themselves. Vance teleported them behind a hill a few feet to the right of the figures, to avoid being detected.

"…I had it by myself, Jacob, you didn't have to jump in like that" one man said, obviously frustrated. The man speaking had short spiked purple hair bordering a boyish face on a frame built by much fighting experience.

"I know, but why do you always have to hog all the fun?" the man named Jacob asked, "Besides, Daniel, if someone doesn't stop you, you'll fight yourself to death" he finished, crossing his arms. This man had medium-length brown hair over a slightly aged face, relieved only by piercing yellow irises in his eyes. His frame was similar to Daniel's, only he was an inch or two shorter and had a bit more stock of muscle on his bones. Vance pulled his head back from watching, his eyes wide open.

"What is it, Vance?" Kristine asked.

"That…that's my dad! He's a bit younger, but that's him!" he said breathlessly, turning again to watch the two men.

"Who's the other guy?" Sain asked.

"I can't be one hundred percent sure, but it looks like _Nate's _dad" Vance said, still breathing slightly heavily.

"Are you kidding me?!" Erk asked, flabbergasted.

"No, I recognize the eyes; that's him alright" Vance said. The two men continued to talk as Vance and the others huddled closer to talk.

"In my opinion, I say we follow them for a while. We were obviously sent here to do just that, why not do it?" Vance said.

"I agree, but what if something really bad happens that threatens our lives? If we die here, do we die back in our own time as well?" Anna asked.

"I would think so, I mean, we're still in our physical bodies, so if we died, I'd say there'd be no history of us left in our own time as well" Kristine said. It satisfied Vance enough to convince the others to follow his dad. After Daniel and Jacob finished talking, they began walking further into the field, which gave the group little options as far as cover, so Vance tried something he hadn't attempted before.

With them all huddled in a small circle, he began to concentrate harder than he ever had before on any power he'd ever used. Suddenly, he and the group began to dissipate slightly, until they were completely cloaked; invisible.

"That's amazing! I didn't know you could do that!" Anna said, looking at her arm but seeing nothing but the grass on the ground.

"Neither did I, now let's get moving" Vance said. They started towards the two men, keeping a big enough distance so that their footsteps couldn't be heard, while still keeping close enough that the conversation the two men were having could still be overheard.

"…I just don't see why you won't listen to me, Danny boy" Jacob said, apparently irking Daniel about something.

"It doesn't sound right to me, Jake. It's too fishy and I don't wanna get caught up in that kind of business. I just want to find a way home. My wife must be dying with grief right now" Daniel said, not breaking his stride as he spoke.

"You were brought here for a reason; don't let that reason be to waste your time here away" Jacob said coldly, "We could have real power, over _everything,_ and you're telling me you'd rather get back to your family?" Jacob finished.

"Actually, yes I am. My family needs me, and power can wait" Daniel said angrily.

"My family can fend for themselves without me…wait a minute; I know what you're up to. You want to get rid of me so you can get your own kind of power here. You know there's no way to get back home, so you wanna make a mark here, and you don't want me in the way!" Jacob accused, unsheathing his sword. It was a big red blade with a jagged edge. Sain and Erk gasped softly as they saw the blade.

"That's Nate's old sword! But if his dad originally used it, then how did _he_ get it?" Sain pondered aloud in a soft whisper. No one knew, so they all continued listening in. Daniel stopped walking at the sight of Jacob's blade and stared him straight in the eye.

"If you don't put your sword away, I promise you it'll be the last thing you ever do, Jake. Don't test me on this" Daniel threatened, unsheathing his own sword. Everyone realized immediately that the blade Daniel was holding was Joe's old sword; Vance's current one.

Suddenly, Jacob lunged forward, knocking his blade into Daniel's and sending him skittering away a few feet from the impact. Vance and the others quickly moved away a little ways, striving to stay out of the line of fire.

Daniel then rushed forward, seemingly flying forward, at Jacob and made his own attack, sending Jacob even further back. Then flurries of swiped and slashed broke out between the two; all out chaos.

"I don't care about your stupid _Bloodline_, Danny boy, I'm still stronger than you'll ever be, and if my plan works, you'll be working for _me_ soon enough anyway…" Jacob threatened after being pushed away. He then lunged forward, his sword now glowing brightly red, and made another attempt.

"No matter how strong you become, Jake, I will always wield more power than you, whether it be physically or purely politically. Nothing will stop me from getting home" Daniel said, sword glowing profusely purple, and lunging forward to parry Jacob's attacks.

"I know of the Gateway, Daniel, and it will obey only me" he said mysteriously. Jacob then suddenly started glowing brightly orange; pulsing like flame. Then, suddenly, a wave of orange light shock-waved from his body, radiating as hot and flame. It made a huge crater around where he was standing, forcing Daniel to retreat a little to avoid being obliterated.

Daniel then countered by throwing purple charges of energy from his sword around at Jacob, making big ditches in the ground where they missed. Jacob suddenly burst forward at Daniel, parrying shock charges as he flew, and rammed into Daniel, sending both of them flying, toppling through the air and fighting.

When they struck the ground, charges like fireworks began bursting into the air all around them, hundreds upon hundreds of them, flying around and destroying anything they crashed into. A good portion of them flew astray into the nearby city, toppling buildings over on top of other buildings. Vance could hear the screams and panic in the streets from where they were.

"I remember this now…I was at home when the charges started hitting; everyone thought it was the end of the world, Apocalypse. That's how he got his name" Sain explained, looking on it awe. Jacob and Daniel finally separated after a charge blew them apart in separate directions.

"Never fear, Danny, I'll be back for you soon enough. Just wait, this world will crumble along with you…" Jacob threatened, and was then absorbed into the ground by a pool of shadow beneath him, much like the way Pat was absorbed.

"Not if I conquer it first…" Daniel said, and then flew away, leaving the smoldering field behind him. As he flew into the horizon, they could see his form change into the one Sain and Erk had seen those few years before, when Joe first fought him.

As he disappeared over the horizon and into the mountains, the sky changed from deep blue to a burning crimson, causing more screams from the nearby city.

"Well, that explains what happened to the world here before Nate and Joe showed up, but that doesn't help us as much as it could have" Erk said, the cloaking fading away so he was visible. Everyone else slowly became visible as well. Vance was staring at the ground intently, deep in thought.

"My dad never wanted to rule this world…he just wanted to get home, to me and my mom and Joe. The power corrupted him, made him thirst for more and more. Until he finally ruled the entire world, and had his powers corrupted so badly that he _couldn't _return home, even if he wanted to" Vance said, stringing it all together in his head.

"So he stayed here and ruled, for 13 years or however long it was before Nate and Joe showed up" Anna continued.

"And that shadow that took Jacob, it's so familiar…if I'm not mistaken, it's the same thing that attacked the house, attacked Joe at the school, and took Pat away…" Vance said, still pondering, "It's all connected somehow, I just know it. I just…can't see it yet…" he finished, frustration spelled out on his face.

"Well, where do we go from here?" Kristine asked.

"We confront my father again, the present one this time, and we beat him. There's nothing left of my father in him anyway; he died along with this world…" Vance said, sounding down-trodden.

"Sounds good to me, but how do we get back to the present?" Erk asked.

"Well, let's see if the old woman has any more tricks up her sleeve" Vance said, unsheathing his sword.

"_Oh don't worry, I have enough tricks to satisfy all of you…_" he heard her say in his head. He held the sword over his head and chanted and incantation in the old woman's voice. The sword began glowing yellow, and they were suddenly swooped into the air and disappeared a ball of flashing yellow light.

Again, they were falling through the air, twisting and turning in the bright nothingness, until they landed on solid ground again. They quickly got up this time; because of the billowing winds, they knew exactly where they were at.

Apocalypse stood there staring at them as they situated themselves again, then they fixes their gazes back upon him.

"Learn anything of value on your little vacation?" Apocalypse asked sarcastically.

"Yeah, only that you're like a politician when it comes to power and jealousy; you were corrupted and you can't go back. And now, because of it, you have to die for what you believe; that the world belongs to you and you alone" Vance said, holding his sword up.

"Boy, there are powers at work here far greater than you, I, and Joe combined. You killing me would do nothing to help anything. It's all in his plan, I'm telling you. Even as we speak, unthinkable things are being unfolded" Apocalypse said, his eyes narrowing as he spoke. Vance's sword lowered slightly.

"Him who? Jacob?" Vance asked curiously.

"No, John Jacob Jingle-Heimer Schmitt, OF COURSE Jacob!" Apocalypse said, getting frustrated, "He's been invading my dreams the past few weeks. I don't know where he is, or what he's doing, but it's big, on both accounts" he finished, looking out at the grey land.

"That's enough. I'm done talking here. We came here to get something we need, and killing you is the way to obtain it" Vance said, raising his sword again.

"What are you talking about, stupid boy?" Apocalypse asked, turning his full attention to them now.

"You have a pendant we need, and we're taking it one way or another" Vance threatened, taking a step forward. Apocalypse reached under the blue robe he was wearing and pulled a twine necklace out from under it and held it before them. A gold hexagonal pendant dangled from the end, glinting in the grey light.

"You mean this old thing? Jacob gave it to me when we first met, said it was of some importance and to not lose it" Apocalypse explained, tucking it back into his robe.

"We need it, and we're taking it. Period" Vance said.

"I'm afraid I can't let you do that, Vance. You see, this pendant belongs to me, and I know what it does, I'm not stupid. You're not getting it from me" Apocalypse refused, staring at them.

"If I have to kill you, I will…" Vance said, taking another step forward. Apocalypse opened his mouth to argue once more, but suddenly fell to the ground, grasping his head in agony and screaming in demonic tones.

"GO AWAY! I'M HANDLING THIS! GET OUT!" Apocalypse screamed, apparently to himself. Then another voice sounded from his mouth, another demonic drone, but this one distinguishably different.

"I told you I'd be back, Danny boy. Now you get to watch your boy die here by your own hand…" the voice spoke. Apocalypse's eyes suddenly turned from red to bright, piercing yellow, and he got back to his feet. When he spoke, it was the secondary voice; not his father's anymore.

"Raise your sword, boy, let's see what you've got" he said, raising an upturned palm to the air. All of them began glowing blue, and were instantly transported back to the massive field where they started.

"If it's a fight you want, Jacob, then it's a fight you get" Vance yelled, holding up his sword and charging. In a blink of an eye, Apocalypse changed from his human form into the huge flying demon they saw so many years before.

Black wings sprouted from his back, along with two giant claws from either side of his torso. His feet turned into white spider-like claws, and two more identical to them sprouted from his back and touched the ground. His eyes turned completely red; no whites at all. Horns sprouted from his head, along with saber-tooth-like fangs from his mouth. His fingernails elongated and thickened into black claws, and his skeletal structure changed to that similar to a bear.

Before Vance could even swipe at him, Apocalypse had grabbed Vance's blade, picked him up by it, and threw him over his head into the ground behind him. The blue blade went flying meters passed him and stuck into the ground.

Sain charged at him while his back was turned, making a swipe at his torso, but his blade was also caught and flung away. Another claw caught Sain around the waist and squeezed him like a tube of toothpaste. Sain's face instantly turned purple, and a red ring appeared around his neck where blood vessels began to burst. He was literally being squeezed to death like a living stuffed bear.

"LEAVE HIM ALONE!" Vance screamed, getting to his feet and wiping the blood off of his face.

Vance shot a purple charge at the limb holding Sain, and it severed on contact, spraying green blood everywhere. Sain fell crumpled to the ground, twitching slightly. Apocalypse bellowed in agony while Vance moved Sain away. He searched Sain for any sign of life, and felt his mind fading away. He dragged him over to the others.

"Don't get caught up in it, I know you want to help, but you'll end up like Sain…" Vance ordered, trailing off at the end. He set Sain down and charged back into the battle. His clawed hand suddenly started pulsing with pain, and the transformation began once again.

The scaly skin spread over his body and the horns, claws and wings began sprouting as he charged. By the time he reached Apocalypse, he was fully transformed into his dragon-like state.

"So, you learned a little trick your brother was incapable of. Very impressive" Apocalypse droned' the limb regenerated while he spoke. Vance let out a bellowing roar and attacked viciously, swiping and biting at every opportunity he got.

Green and red blood spurted everywhere, both from Apocalypse and Vance and they attacked. Vance suddenly flew into the air and made fists with his claws. Red energy began to pulse around his fists, and he threw them forward, releasing an intense beam of concentrated energy strait at Apocalypse.

Just as the energy was about to hit, Apocalypse held up a clawed limb and stopped the energy dead in its tracks, so it looked like a pillar of stationary red glowing energy. He then shoved back towards Vance, forcing the energy to stream back at Vance. It struck him square in the stomach and sent him spiraling to the ground, a sickening crack echoing out as he hit the ground.

"_Get to the sword, it's your only hope…_" the woman pleaded in his head. Vance stood up, shook off the shock of the fall, and charged at his weapon, hoping for any kind of advantage. He reached the blade just as Apocalypse sent a beam of green energy at him.

He pulled the blade out of the ground just in time to swing it around behind him and bat the energy back to it's source; Apocalypse. The energy came so fast that he didn't have time to brace himself, and it hit him square in the neck, sending him spiraling through the air backwards and landing on his side, breaking off another claw-arm, resulting in more green blood.

Vance then flew into the air just above Apocalypse, and grasped both ends of his blade with a claw. The blade flashed blue momentarily, then absorbed into his body. His eyes then suddenly began glowing white, along with his hands all the way up to his shoulders. He pushed his arms forward towards Apocalypse and white-hot energy beams shot from his arms and eyes, straight at the ground.

They hit with the impact of a nuclear explosion, causing the rest of the group to duck towards the ground to lessen the impact of the heat. When the flash cleared, Apocalypse was laying on the ground in the center of a huge crater, smoldering with black, charred dirt. Clothing was burning off of his body, and limbs were scattered about.

Vance lowered to the ground slowly as his sword separated from him out of his chest and fell to the ground with a loud clang. By the time he touched down, his whole body had transformed back.

"Well played, Jacob…" he started, sputtering once for air; the battle injured him greatly, "But not well enough. Take that as a warning; don't interfere" Vance finished, sliding down the edge of the crater towards the body, limping a little as he walked. Jacob's voice sputtered slightly as he spoke.

"I'm not interfering with anything. If anything, you are you little maggot. I had to make sure you were the right one for the job, and you passed the test with flying colors. Your father would be proud of you. I must now make final preparations before the big battle starts. See you soon, my little pawn…" Jacob said, and left Apocalypse's body. His irises turned red again, and his father's voice returned.

"I told you…to stay out of it…now you're going to…get everyone killed…" he said, sputtering up green blood.

"You're not my father anymore" Vance stated, staring him in the eyes. He reached around Apocalypse's neck and yanked the pendant off of his neck and pocketed it.

"You'll regret it, just wait…" Apocalypse said, his breath getting wheezier. Just then, his eyes began to change, along with the rest of him.

The stumps of limbs disappeared off of his body, and the blood seeping out became crimson; human again. His eyes changed from a bloody red to a deep, ice blue, just like they had been when Vance was young. Vance stared in horror as his father reappeared in front of him, lying sprawled on the ground in his own blood.

"Son, thank you…for setting me free…the power took over, I became what I despised most…and lost the one thing that kept me moving…my family" he said, his voice human again. Vance kneeled down next to him.

"I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean for this to happen, I only wanted to kill the demon…" Vance pleaded, tears welling up in his eyes.

"Don't worry, be strong…even worse things have yet to come…but the rewards…will be worth the pain…goodbye, my son…" Daniel said, and was gone. Vance stood up and crawled awkwardly out of the crater, and limped over to the others, who were huddled around Sain's body.

"He's gone guys, don't worry. He's with the others now. He doesn't have to suffer anymore…" he said. He retrieved Sain's sword and laid it down on his chest, the hilt facing his neck.

"Rest now, warrior" he said, and they began walking away slowly.

"We go home now?" Anna asked, stifling away tears.

"Not quite. Back to our world, yes. Home, no…" Vance said. He held the sword up, and the woman's voice trailed out of his mouth as the sword began to glow again, and then they were gone.

"Master? Master!: Pat yelled, running to Fate, who was now lying on the ground, seemingly asleep. His eyes shot open as Pat shook him.

"Fear not, Dark One, we have found our pawn. And what a great end this will be to such a disgusting world. Prepare the final bout; it's all about to unfold" Fate demanded suddenly, sitting up and then standing up.

"They are back on earth now, I will do as you say" Pat said, and teleported away. As he left, red eyes began to appear all around the void, as if answering an unheard call.

"The time has come, my minions! Go, destroy them all! We will then claim those worlds for our own! The shadows will NOT be denied!" Fate yelled, his yellow eyes seemingly getting brighter. The red eyes then all disappeared in many flashes of red, off to start the beginning of the end.

They appeared inside the chamber again; since Vance had been there before, he could now freely enter and leave it whenever he wished. The giant gold door stood before them, almost tauntingly, waiting for the last two keys. Vance's wounds had healed by now, so he walked forward briskly towards the door. He took out the key from his pocket, and slipped it into the hold on the door.

Much like with the first one, the seams glowed for a moment, and then blended in perfectly with the door. This time, the chamber glowed brightly green, pulsing brighter and brighter as slight tremors ran through the earth beneath them. Then it all stopped as suddenly as it had started.

"That's very reassuring…" Erk said sarcastically. Vance, ignoring him, then took the third pendant off his neck and detached it from the necklace. He raised it towards the final hole, but paused momentarily; something didn't feel right. He wasn't sure what it was, but it was big.

"What are you waiting for?" Anna asked frantically.

"Something's wrong, it doesn't feel right…" Vance replied, hand still over the hole.

"Of course something's wrong; the world is close to ending! Whatever's on the other side of that door should stop it, now hurry!" Erk said quickly. Making up his mind, Vance slowly placed the last hexagonal key into place.

The seams disappeared, just like with the other ones, but then there was silence; nothing. None of them noticed Pat appear behind them out of thin air until he shot a bolt of crimson energy at the door.

Suddenly, the room began to pulse brightly white; so bright that it hurt to have their eyes open. Heat began to emanate from the walls, causing the ice to melt quickly. Holes in the ground around the central brazier in the room acted like drains, taking all the water away. Suddenly, the white light began to glow red, and the markings and runes on the wall were now visible.

They weren't as divine as they all originally thought they had been; there were pentagrams all over the place, along with symbols that looked like maniac cave paintings drawn with human blood. A small crack appeared in-between the two golden doors, and a deep red light pulsed through.

"Enjoy your prize, little one" Pat announced, then teleported again, leaving behind echoing, maniacal laughter. The doors began to swing forward, and wind began to suck into it as it opened wider.

"IT WAS A TRAP! RUN!" Vance yelled to the others. They were already well away from the door when it started opening, but Vance was right in front of it. The door opened even wider and the breeze pulled harder by a tenfold, working like a giant vacuum.

"GO! RUN!" Vance yelled again. He was trying to run away but the winds were starting to pull him backwards. Suddenly the doors flung open all the way and winds sucked with the force of a hurricane.

Vance almost had a hand on the central pedestal, but the winds pulled him back like a piece of lint. Flames and smoke could be seen now on the other side of the door, heat and light emanating from it profusely.

"Find Satan and send him back, it's what we were supposed to do in the first place!" Vance yelled as he was sucked behind the doors.

The gold doors then slammed shut and faded into the wall, becoming a part of the grey stone wall and locking Vance away in a place of flame where even Satan dared not tread; Tartarus.

**To Be Continued…**


	5. Apocalypse V: Gateway of Fate

**Apocalypse V:**

**Gateway of Fate**

Erk stared in awe as the golden door slammed shut and melded into the stone wall behind it.

"He's…gone" Kristine said breathless. Suddenly, the earth began to shake beneath them, rattling their brains in their heads.

"That's definitely not good…" Anna said sarcastically. The tremors became more violent, and they ran outside the chamber quickly before it came down around them.

Outside it was total chaos.

The normally black night sky was pulsing red, swirling with jet black clouds, pouring torrents of rain onto the earth, which sizzled the snow as it hit the ground.

A yellow sphere began glowing faintly above them, pulsing brighter and brighter until it was almost too painful to watch. A shadow of a figure began to form in the center of the sphere; a human figure. Then a voice boomed out from the light, one they all recognized.

"You insolent little humans thought you'd won when you got the last pendant, but all you did was doom yourselves! It's funny how cruel irony can be sometimes" Jacob's voice announced from the light.

"Come down here and fight us then, funny man!" Erk yelled, preparing a fireball in his palm.

"It would appear as if I can't as of yet; my power is not great enough yet to break the seal holding me here in the Lair. But the lair is closer to home than you may think, for me anyway. But my minions have no problem fighting with you if it's what you really want. _Attack!_" he yelled, and the sphere disappeared.

Suddenly, red spheres of light began to appear around them, and when they dissipated, knights of pure shadow stood in their place, swords drawn, eyes glowing red, ready to fight.

"Get 'em!" Erk yelled, throwing his ready-made fireball at the nearest one.

The fire made a hole in the warrior's chest, but it kept moving forward towards them. Anna moved forward fast and separated the head of the injured knight. The shadow head fell to the ground silently and dissipated, along with the knight. Kristine shot an arrow through what she thought to be the helmet of the knight, making it dissipate instantly.

Following suit, Erk made a javelin of ice and threw it into the face of the knight, killing it. Now the only sounds were the billowing winds and the falling rain.

"Now what do we do? Vance isn't here to teleport us home" Kristine asked. As if to answer her question, three jets flew overhead, screaming through the air with the force of twenty semi trucks.

"I guess we see where they came from firstly" Erk said.

They began traveling in the direction that the crafts flew from. After a few minutes of running, shadow creatures began crawling out of holes in the ground. None of them were the knights that they had defeated before; these were pure beasts out for the taste of blood. Erk's eyes began glowing red, and he stopped in his tracks. He held his hands up to the sky and black clouds began to gather above him.

"Keep fighting, you won't get hurt" he announced. Anna drew her sword and Kristine readied her bow and notched an arrow. About 20 of the creatures then charged at them maniacally, claws bore.

Suddenly, lightning bolts began firing out of the cloud Erk had gathered, striking down one demon after the other. In a matter of minutes, they had obliterated every creature that charged at them, leaving nothing left of them. The cloud dissipated, and Erk's eyes returned to normal once again.

"I didn't know you had that kind of power, Erk" Anna said, sheathing her sword.

"Magick is stronger when you have strong motivation behind it. Also, I never wanted to overexert my power for fear that it may hurt one of our own" Erk explained. Soon they were running again, searching intently for the base that the jets had come from.

When two more jets sailed overhead, they knew they had to be close. Sure enough, a few minutes later they came across a barbed fence guarding a giant stone jet hangar.

"Bingo" Erk said. He held his hands up to the fence, and the metal immediately began glowing orange with heat. Within moments, the metal had melted off the fence and was now a sizzling pool of metallic liquid melted into the snow. They stepped over the puddle and under the fence, continuing at a sprint towards the base. An armed security guard noticed them running and leveled his gun at them.

"Halt or I'll shoot!" he demanded, taking aim. Erk, Anna and Kristine stopped in their tracks.

"We're not here to hurt anyone, we just need a lift!" Erk yelled.

"This isn't a public bus station, kid" the guard said, not moving his gun.

"We know, but there's no other way to get back home, and with all these demons and warriors about, it's kind of dangerous to even think about walking" Erk explained, not breaking his gaze. They locked sights for a moment, and then the guard lowered his weapon.

"Okay, I give. Who do you need to talk to?" he asked.

"Whoever's in charge here, they should be able to help us" Erk said, walking forward slowly. The guard turned on his heel and led them into the base.

They entered through a thick steel door on the side of the hangar, and immediately went up a flight of stairs to the left of the door. They walked up two levels, and came to another heavy steel door. The guard opened it and allowed them through.

"We just can't get away from you even if we try, can we?" Erk asked the man behind the desk. It was General Williams, looking immensely stressed and typing frantically on the computer terminal on his desk in front of him.

"I'm sorry, have we met?" he asked, standing up.

"_We _haven't met personally, but you fought alongside with the other Apocalyptic Elect; Joe, Lyn, Hector, all of them" Erk explained.

"Ah yes, how could I forget them? Valiant warriors they were, such a shame for them to go. You say you're comrades of theirs?" General Williams asked, walking around the desk and shaking each of their hands.

"Yes, we are. Joe's brother Vance kind of, er…got into a bit of trouble a little bit ago, and he's no longer with us, and we need a lift back home" Erk explained.

"Say no more, you'll be on the next transit jet out of here. God only knows with this new wave of demons flowing in, we need a few more good warriors back home" Williams said, walking back over to the terminal. He typed a few lines into the computer, and then looked back up at them.

"All finished, just head back out the way you came in, and go to the first big hangar door to your left; there'll be a pilot there waiting for you" Williams explained as he shook each of their hands again.

"Thank you so much, you're a great man, General" Anna said gratefully. They made their way out and back down the stairs once more.

The cold whipped at them as they exited the building and took a left out the door. It was a few yards to the first hangar, but even at that close of a distance, they couldn't see the pilot until they were practically on top of him.

"Greetings. Thompson's the name. Enter through the door here and we'll be on our way" the pilot said, greeting them.

"You sure you can fly in this kind of weather?" Kristine asked over the billowing winds.

"This? Oh this is nothing. We've flown in much worse than this" Thompson said, opening a steel door to the left of the giant hangar door. They stepped inside and a light immediately flicked to life somewhere above them.

The jet sitting before them was a massive black hunk of metal that looked dangerous even when inactive. Thompson stepped over to the jet and opened the lower door to the craft. A platform lowered from the belly of the beast allowing them entry. He then quickly ran over to the giant hangar door, and pressed a green button to the right of it, turning it red. The giant metal door immediately started lifting open, letting the billowing winds and snow into the hangar.

He raced back to the jet and ran up the steep steps into the jet, then pressed a button to his left to close the jet once more. When the platform closed, the only light that illuminated the inside then were the buttons, screens and dials that dotted the pilot area of the jet.

"Take a seat in the back and we'll be rolling in a moment" Thompson said, then disappeared into the front of the craft. For a military jet, this one was quite lavishly decorated. Maroon leather seats, a mini-bar in the back, and a few small TV's docked into the walls.

"The military officials definitely like their comfort" Anna said, flopping down on one of the seats.

"Let's not waste any time, guys. We should use this time to figure out what we're going to do once we get back home. Vance said to find Satan and put him back where he belongs, but in order to do that, we'd have to find him first, which is kind of hard without Vance's teleport ability" Erk said, his voice steadily rising as the jet engines boomed to life. They sat down at a small oak table flanked on either side by maroon-leather seats, flopping down to discuss business.

"I can't think of any way we can find him without Vance's visions or teleportation…Do you think there's any chance he might come back?" Kristine asked.

"I don't think so…we might be on our own here guys" Erk said depressed, sitting back a bit in the seat as the jet started moving.

"On second thought, let's use this time to rest, we need it badly, and I think all our minds' need rest now" Anna said, her head lying back on the seat, staring at the ceiling of the cabin. They felt the craft around them accelerate quicker and quicker until finally the cabin surged backwards as the jet left the ground and became airborne.

"_I know we'll find him again, we just have to…_" Erk thought to himself, the loud humming of the jet engines burning through his thoughts.

It was a good two hours before they touched down in the target airport. Erk told the pilot the coordinates of their home, and the pilot laid it out on his map of the city.

"Well, you're about an hour away from there, so would you like me to arrange for transportation for you? General said to give you any conveniences you may need, and that's an awful long ways to walk" Thompson said to Erk.

"That would be great, thank you" he responded. Thompson opened the stairwell leading out of the jet and stepped outside. They walked towards the building, entering through a door a few hundred yards from the jet. Thompson walked to a phone on the wall a few feet from the door and began dialing.

The airport was fairly fancy, with red and grey checkered carpet and sky blue papered walls. Thompson hung up the phone and joined them by the door once more.

"A cab should be here in about five minutes to take you home. Have a safe trip; I've got to get the jet back to base. I hope you see ya'll again sometime" Thompson said, saluting them.

"Thank you for the lift. It was a pleasure meeting you" Kristine said. Thompson then opened the door and disappeared. They sat on wooden benches on either side of the door as the sound of the jet faded into the distance.

"So…what are we gonna do now? I don't really see a point in fighting without Vance; we wouldn't know what to do" Anna asked, looking absentmindedly out of the window in the door.

"I'm not sure yet, but I'm sure we'll come up with something by the time we get to the house" Erk said, staring at the floor.

"Who are we kidding?" Kristine suddenly blurted.

"What do you mean?" Erk asked, looking up at her.

"We have no hope of survival now! Sure we could fight for a while, survive a few years longer perhaps, but for what? Eventually the world is gonna be covered, and we're all going to die. There's no point anymore…" Kristine ranted maniacally. They all stared at her as she lowered her head to stare at the floor.

"We all have that burden right now, but there's no point in just giving up and letting them win. We're stronger then that, and if I know Vance, he'll find some way to let us know what to do, he and Joe always have" Erk said, trying to comfort her. They heard the soft hum of a car go past the door then halt a little ways past it.

"That's our ride, let's go" Erk said, standing up. They made their way out the door and to the cab. It was the standard yellow with black and white checkers running down the side. They crawled in the backseat and slammed the door. Erk let the driver know where it was they needed to go, and the cab driver sped off.

No one said a word during the journey; they simply looked out the windows at the small black figures flying above the earth, an omen of what was surely soon to come. An hour of silence later, and the cab pulled up in front of their house. It was exactly as they had left it the previous day. Had it really only been a day? It seemed like weeks since Vance had blasted open the chamber that unleashed all of this hell.

They paid the driver with interest, not knowing how much longer he would live anyway. They approached the front door and Erk unlocked it with a key he pulled out of his back pocket. Kristine fell down on the couch as soon as she walked in the door and laid her head down on the arm of the couch. Within minutes she was fast asleep. Erk and Anna sat on the other couch across the room talking.

"What are we going to do? We don't have anything to occupy ourselves with except waiting here to be killed" Anna asked frantically.

"I'm not sure…the only thing I can think to do would be to wait. I'm positive Vance will find some way to contact us. Only then will we know what to do" Erk replied. Anna nodded, almost absent-mindedly, staring at the floor.

The sun was beginning to set now, the red streaks of light moving slowly up the wall, glowing around the rest of the room. Anna let out a long, silent yawn, and then arose from her spot on the couch.

"I'm gonna turn in early today, a lot has happened. I'll talk to you in the morning" she said, and started for the stairs.

"Wait" Erk said, also standing up. She froze and turned to face him.

"We _will _get through this. You just watch. Our signal will come soon. We just have to be patient" Erk said. He then hugged her, more for his own sake than hers, and followed her up the stairs and into his own room.

The next morning they slept in later than they normally would, seeing as how they had nowhere important to be anyway. Erk arose from his bed at nine, bare-chested, scratching at his chin where stubble had grown once more.

"All this magick and I can't even keep a clean-shaven face for more than a day…" Erk jested to himself. He looked at himself on the full-body mirror hanging on the wall opposite his bed. His stomach was covered in healed scars and old burn marks.

"That's the sacrifice you make when you live a life of adventure…" he said to himself, opening a drawer in his dresser and searching for a shirt and a clean pair of pants.

Vance's face flashed through his mind; the terrified look on his face as he flew through the air into the stone door. Erk would never forget that face, nor would he rest until he found his comrade once again. He pulled out a tight black t-shirt and pulled it over his head and put on a fresh pair of beige khakis. By the sounds of bumping and the television downstairs, he could tell that Kristine and Anna were awake once again. He made his way out the bedroom door and down the stairs.

Kristine was curled up on the couch on her side with her head on the arm, watching the television. It looked as if she hadn't bothered to get up since she had awoken. Anna was busy in the kitchen, cooking up bacon and eggs for breakfast. Erk took a seat on the other couch and laid his head back on the couch, staring at the ceiling.

"Sleep well?" he called into the kitchen, not raising his head.

"You could say that, how about you?" Anna called back.

"Pretty well considering the circumstances" he replied. Kristine remained silent, gaze locked on the television.

"You okay, Kristine?" Erk asked, raising his head to look at her. She simply nodded and kept watching the television. Erk figured she was still in a bit of shock from the previous day and left it at that.

"Come on and eat guys" Anna said from the kitchen. Erk rose from the couch but Kristine remained where she was. He sat down in the kitchen with a plate of food and began eating. Anna sat down opposite of him at the table. Once they had finished, they both went back into the living room and sat down on the couches; Anna on the small couch and Erk next to where Kristine lay.

Erk could feel that she was trembling as she laid there without even having to be in contact with her; the entire couch was slightly vibrating.

"Kristine, are you okay?" he asked. She turned to him, moving for the first time since he had come downstairs. She looked at him with glassy eyes, obviously still quite shaken, and slowly shook her head. She sat up quickly and buried her face in Erk's shoulder, tears now streaming.

"Why did it have to be him? He was our only hope! We can't even do anything now! You said we'll get a signal, but when? _When_ damn it?! I can't just sit here like this and do nothing!" she said emotionally, her voice slightly muffled by Erk's shoulder. He held her and gently pet the back of her head for comfort.

"I know. I know how you feel, but we have to keep strong for everyone out there. Fate will attack soon, I can feel it, and now with how few we are, we need to be ready. If we fail, earth fails. We'll get our signal soon…" he said in a soft voice. She sobbed softly into his shoulder, slowly calming with every passing minute. Soon she had stopped crying, but her eyes were still pink and puffy.

"We'll all get through this, don't you worry about that" Erk said comfortingly. No sooner had the words left his mouth, the TV began emitting an extremely loud, high-pitched whine that made them all cringe and cover their ears.

"What the hell is that?" Anna yelled. Erk could barely hear her; the sound was unbearable. The TV then began shaking violently and the screen began flashing brilliantly bright white. It bounced backwards until it was up against the wall.

"I've got a bad feeling about this!" Erk yelled over the noise. He ran over to the door and threw Anna her sword and Kristine her bow, preparing them for the worst.

The TV then suddenly absorbed into the wall behind it, forming a big black, swirling hole in the wall. The noise died a little but a high frequency whine continued to screech through the air at a tolerable level. Something stirred from within the black spiral, and suddenly three shadow knights emerged from it, swords raised and eyes glowing menacingly white.

"Not good!" Erk screamed, throwing a fireball at one that approached him. It seared through the stomach of the fiend and soared right through it, colliding with the wall behind it. Erk then threw another one at its head. A sizzling noise struck through the air as the enemy's head dissipated. The knight's body dissipated slowly into nothing, leaving behind no trace.

"Aim for the heads, guys! Otherwise they won't die!" Erk yelled, jumping forward to help Kristine. She fired an arrow at the opposing knight, piercing it through its glowing, white eye. The shadowy fiend trembled for a moment, and then dissipated.

Anna made quick work of her foe, feigning low and then striking it through the neck with her blade. Then all was relatively silent.

They could hear muffled screams coming from all around outside.

"It wasn't just us, but at least we survived these ones" Kristine said.

"You wretched fools, you simply stepped on the rejected ants of the hill. You've done nothing of worth" Fate's voice boomed around them.

"Stop toying with us and show yourself you coward!" Erk screamed at the air.

"Don't you listen you imbecile? I _can't _yet. But I will, you'll just have to wait a bit longer. In the meantime, I'm sure I can keep you, _entertained_…" and Fate's voice faded away in a torrent of maniacal cackling. They suddenly heard deep thuds coming from outside, like a gigantic stone basketball bouncing down the street. They raced to the door and ran out to see.

Down the street, three massive shadow knights made their way up past the houses, swinging their massive shadow-flamberges; giant swords with blades that spiked and curved like the tongues of a fire.

"Elect! We decree thee to join our ranks, or suffer death by our hands" the leading Knight bellowed. Each one had a different colored gemstone embedded in their foreheads.

The leader's was glowing emerald, the one to the right had a dazzling topaz, and the left one had a crimson ruby. Other than that, they look identical; about seven feet tall, glowing white eyes, and almost indistinguishable attire due to the shadow-coloration of their bodies.

"You want us? Come and get us" Erk yelled, raising both hands. His right was engulfed in flame up to his elbow, while the left was raging with bolts of electricity, circling and flickering all the way up to his shoulder. Anna raised her blade, which began glowing red, and Kristine nocked an arrow on her bow.

"So be it. Your fates are sealed" the emerald Knight bellowed, raising his flame blade. They began advancing once more, quite slowly for how fast Erk suspected they could move. The small tremors made it seem like the cement could barely contain their weight, or maybe power. Erk hoped it was the first option.

They stopped in the street in front of the house, civilians still being slain left and right by the lesser-knights ravaging the city. It seemed like everyone's televisions and computers created portals for these enemies to come through.

"It's like Electro-geddon…" Anna joked. Erk frown at the bad taste of her wordplay.

"I tried" she jested. Erk jumped off the porch, did a flip in the air, and released the pent-up fire and electrical energy at two of the massive Knights. The fire struck the Ruby Knight, and the electricity struck the Emerald Knight. The elements simply absorbed into their shadowy depths and had no effect.

"My turn" Emerald stated. The gem in its forehead began glowing brightly green, growing brighter with each passing second. Erk felt as if his soul was being ripped from his body. He heard Anna gasp behind him, as if she were out of breath, and knew that she felt the same thing. His feet lifted off the ground, and Kristine shrieked from behind him; she hated heights.

He accelerated faster and faster upward until he could see nothing but the blinding green light around him. Suddenly, the light faded all at once, leaving him partially blinded while his eyes adjusted. Everything had a bright purple tint to it from the light, but when his eyes had recovered enough to see, he gasped.

Overhead he could see only grey and black clouds with gusts of billowing winds blowing all around. He was standing on a small wooden platform, almost too small for him to stand on, which was held up by a moderately sized wooden pillar, which stuck out of a raging sea beneath him. In all directions for as far as his eyes could see, all he could find from horizon to horizon was raging torrents of sea. His breathing got heavier with each passing second.

'_Water…I hate the open water…fear of drowning…_' he thought to himself. His mind began reeling with ideas of how he was going to get out of this predicament. He didn't want to give in to the sense of helplessness; he couldn't.

Anna was flying faster and faster up into the air, her breath getting shorter and shorter with each passing moment. Suddenly, her feet found solid ground, the light dissipated instantly, and her breathing became normal once again.

She was back in her hometown, surrounded by tall buildings and streetlights. A small demon ran out from behind a building and charged slowly at her.

'_Easy prey_' she thought to herself, reaching to unsheathe her sword; there was nothing there. The demon came closer, and now she could see in the distance, thousands of demons of multiple sizes coming towards her, all frenzied with bloodlust.

She stared in awe, unable to move a limb from shock. The impending doom moved faster.

The swirling bright, blinding lights gave Kristine a headache, even through her closed eyelids. She was relieved when she felt solid ground beneath her feet and the light faded away. She opened her eyes, only to shriek in terror.

She was at the top of an enormous skyscraper, tens of stories in the air. She leaned back on the giant radio antenna on the building, strong winds whipping her hair up and all around in different directions, threatening to throw her off to her death.

'_It just had to be heights…_' she thought to herself, terrified.

Erk looked in all directions for a solution to his plight, but could think of nothing. He was standing on a wooden platform, no bigger than 2 foot on each side, supported by a single wooden column, in the middle of some ocean, with a storm raging on the horizon.

He was just about to give up thinking when a strong blast of wind hit him full-on in his front, throwing him off balance, and plunging him into the dark depths beneath him. The water was frigid and knocked the wind out of him as soon as he broke the surface of the glassy darkness. His limbs tried to keep him breached above the surface, but the cold slowed them so much that they were almost already practically numb. The weight of his armor only added to his burden, pulling him down faster and wearing him tired.

'_So this is the end…they won'_ he thought, treading for his life.

The oncoming army was now a tremor of footfalls and crazed demonic shouts. She ran for her life, racing up the street as fast as she could, away from the nightmare. She was up against an army, by herself, and unarmed. Never had she been so frightened in all her life.

Never had she felt so helpless.

She ducked behind a nearby building, blocking them from view, although she could still hear their monstrous advance in her direction; destruction incarnate. She double-checked to make sure that her sword wasn't on her; nothing, she was completely unarmed. She didn't even know any magick to back her up.

She wished more than anything that Erk was there to help her, even Kristine. Hell, anybody. A small demon suddenly rounded the corner, no larger than a puppy, its glowing red eyes staring up at her hungrily. She kicked out as hard as she could at its face, punting it several feet forward. It fell limp to the ground, blood leaking from its face.

The manhole cover to a nearby sewer entrance was lying uncovered. She quickly ran to it and scrambled in, sliding down the ladder into the dark, and, she hoped, away from the approaching death.

Kristine was so terrified that she was almost sobbing.

The wind still whipped around her, but she held quite firmly to the radio antenna. Hawks and eagles flew around her, soaring in circles almost as if they were threatening to tackle her off, sending her hurdling to her doom. One of them looked her in the eye for a moment, before its eyes started glowing brightly orange. She jumped from shock, but quickly steadied herself again.

She saw no way out of this situation; this was how it was to end.

Erk's head bobbed viciously up and down in the water. The cold had knocked the wind out of him and now he was struggling just to draw adequate air when he surfaced. He could no longer see straight; his eyes strained to see through the icy water that filled his vision.

With each effort at air, he drew in more and more water, burning his lungs. His muscles began to fail him and he slipped further and further into the depths, his limbs still flailing for his life.

'_Using my fear of drowning against me…this is a new low even for evil…'_ he thought to himself as his efforts failed him more and more. His muscles were screaming in agony for rest and the icy waters finally consumed the top of his head. As the dim lights of the sky faded faster and faster, he finally gave up trying, giving himself up to the raging sea.

Just as he felt his last breath leaving him, he felt strong hands grab him under his arms and start lifting him up into the air, out of the darkness of the water. A soft white glow emanated from above him as he was dragged quicker and quicker out of the water. When he finally breached the surface, he took in a giant gasp of air and sputtered out all of the water in his lungs.

The visage of the sea around him dissipated suddenly, and was replaced with that of a major city, under siege by the sounds of screams in the distance. When his breathing returned to normal, he turned to look at his savior, and gasped.

Anna ran through the sewers, the only thought in her head being escape. She came to a four way intersection of pipes and stopped. A tremor of rumbling and footsteps shook above her and she knew she hadn't gotten very far. She took the tunnel to the right and continued running.

Just when she thought her legs would give out, the tunnel in front of her exploded in a reign of flames and stone shrapnel. Demons flooded into the tunnel, swords and axes in hand. She heard growls and voices behind her and knew she had been cornered. She fell to her knees and huddled her face behind her arms, waiting for the worst.

'_Helplessness…anything but this…_' she thought to herself.

Suddenly she heard screams and growls of pain all around her and knew that something wasn't right. A soft red glow shone around her, and she poked and eye out to look.

There was a translucent man fighting back the demons single handedly, with nothing but a simple silver rapier. She hid her face again until the screams stopped. When she felt a hand on her arm, she lifted her face and gasped at the person before her.

She was looking into the face of a man with bright blue eyes and bright crimson colored hair.

Kristine was sitting towards the edge of the building, her knees drawn up around her chest and her arms wrapped around them.

'_There's always a solution…it's just hidden…_' she kept telling herself; but she knew she was only fooling herself. She was doomed.

She then heard soft rippling behind her, like cloth in a strong breeze. She turned her head and gasped. A giant red eagle was flying on the opposite side of the building, the size of a large dump truck. Its glowing yellow eyes were fixed only on her, staring ravenously.

She tried to turn away but couldn't break her gaze. Just when she thought it was going to land, it began moving slowly away from her, inching slowly through the air. Suddenly, it reared back slightly and began flapping its wings fiercely at her, billowing gusts of wind at her.

She shrieked suddenly as she tumbled over the edge of the building and grasped onto the ledge, her feet dangling over the void beneath her. She tried to pull herself up just as the creature emerged from the edge of the building, still staring at her. It lowered itself slightly, and gouged at her hands with its claws.

She felt red hot pain sear through the backs of her hands until she suddenly slipped and began falling into the clouds beneath her. The winds whipped her hair up above her as she screamed all the way down, windows on the building streaming past her vision as she flipped and spun in the air.

Suddenly, a pale, glowing, blue-haired figure appeared a ways above her and began soaring down towards her, intent on catching her. She saw the pale glow from above as she was flipping; the only reason she knew it was above was because it was where she was falling from.

She could faintly see the ground beneath her, and her screams turned into agonizing shrieks of terror. She began frantically groping at the sky for her life, knowing full well that she wouldn't find anything to slow her fall.

The spirit flew faster, hoping against hope that he could stop what was about to happen. She was now only a good 1000 feet off of the ground, and still accelerating. She knew she only had a split second left until she struck the ground. People standing around were pointing up at her and gawking as she fell further.

The spirit was now within two arms' lengths of her, and lunged one final time for her arm; and missed. He watched in horror as she fell her final second of life, then a sickening thud. She was gone.

He hesitated for a moment, and then flashed away.

Erk was staring into a face he thought he'd never see again. He hadn't aged a bit, his purple hair as vibrant as ever, and his blue eyes as radiant as they had been in the past. Joe looked like a miracle in a man's body.

"J-Joe? But…but how can it be you? You're dead!" Erk exclaimed, clearly in shock.

"Still am. Come on, try and take a swing at me" Joe replied, holding his arms out at his sides. Erk reached for Joe's abs, but his hand went right through them.

"But, then how did you pull me from the water?" Erk asked his face quite pale.

"It was a spiritual realm you were sent to, so I had some solidity there, so I could pull you out" Joe explained, taking a seat on the ground. Erk sat down in front of him.

"What about the others?" Erk asked anxiously.

"Eli and Hector are taking care of them. We should be getting word any minute now from them. They have to give the same explanation to the other two after they save them" Joe said, looking up to the sky.

"But I thought you guys weren't allowed to alter anything on earth?" Erk asked curiously.

"Well you guys weren't on earth, now were you?" Joe asked, grinning. A glint of understanding lit in Erk's eyes.

"Just love those loopholes, don't you?" he asked, now grinning himself. Joe nodded absentmindedly. There was a sudden bright flash of light, and Eli appeared out of thin air.

"Eli!" Erk yelled joyfully, jumping to his feet. Eli greeted him with a warm grin. His red hair had grown a bit, and now came down to around the tops of his ears, rather than short and spiky.

"Did you succeed?" Joe asked him, also getting to his feet.

"Yes I did, she's safe and sound" Eli replied.

"You didn't bring her here?" Erk asked.

"Can't, we're on earth now. We can't tamper with anything. So we can't even tell you where you are" Eli answered.

"Oh, I get it" Erk said, sounding a bit let down.

"Have you gotten word from Hector?" Joe asked.

"Not yet, but he should be arriving any moment" Eli said. He pulled out his rapier and started wiping the multicolored blood that was splattered all over it. He had apparently done an efficient job somewhere.. There was again a bright flash of light, and Hector appeared a few feet away, no different than when he had died. His eyes looked sullen and his opaque skin was pale.

"Success?" Eli asked. Hector slowly shook his head, looking towards the ground as he reached them.

"…No, she- she fell too fast. I couldn't save her" Hector replied, his voice shaky. Erk stared at him in shock.

"Which her?" he asked, shaken.

"Kristine. She's gone" Hector replied. Erk's world began spinning. Another of their number was gone. Now it was just he and Anna, wherever she was.

"I'm sorry. It's all my fault" Hector said, not looking up from the ground.

"Don't worry about it. If you didn't try to save her she would have died anyway" Joe said, his voice also a little bit shaky.

"What am I supposed to do now?" Erk asked, his mind still trying to accept the fact that she was gone.

"Wait it out. There's really nothing you can do without Vance" Eli said.

"How long will I have to wait?" Erk asked.

"You know we can't tell you anything, Erk" Joe said.

"I'll tell him. It's the least I can do" Hector said, looking up at Erk.

"Hector, you know the consequences" Eli said sternly.

"I know, but he deserves to know, especially after what he's been through" Hector snapped. Eli took a step backward and motioned towards Erk.

"Then go right on ahead" he said. Hector took a deep breath.

"Vance will be in Tartarus for the next year and a half. You won't get any contact from him, see him, or sense him for a year and a half. That's how long you have to wait. I can't tell you anything else. You'll have to fend for yourself for now. At least try and find Anna though. Once you guys are united again, you'll stand a better chance of survival" Hector explained. Erk nodded slowly.

"Thank you, guys, for everything. I'm sure we'll meet up again someday" Erk said. He motioned to shake Joe's hand, but then thought better of it, remembering he wouldn't be able to.

Then, with a flash of light, all three of them vanished into the heavens, their objective completed. Erk took one final look around, grateful that he was even still alive. He then trekked out into the foreign city, preparing to start the next part of his quest; survival.

The smell of ash and brimstone pricked his senses as he lay flat on his side on the warm, ashen stone ground. Vance's eyes suddenly popped open and he attempted to stand. He got to his knees when the pain in the side of his head hit him; he was bleeding a little from his temple and bruises were forming on the side of his head. He had apparently taken a nasty fall and smacked his head.

It then dawned on him again what happened. The door, the chamber, the others, Pat, the flames, and then nothing. He turned around to try and find the door but found nothing but a barren stone cliff wall; smooth stone. He then took a look at his surroundings and gasped.

There was a winding trail of stone ground before him, winding up through a pit of smoke, magma, and flame. Overhead was nothing but the open space of a cavern roof. He stood fully up, keeping his balance as he swayed back and forth. He checked that his sword and everything was still with him, then started up the path to the great stone door at the top.

'_It was a trap all along. I should have known from the start that this would happen…_' Vance scolded himself. He looked over the edge of the path as he walked, looking down a sheer vertical drop down a cliff wall to the magma hundreds of feet below.

'_That would definitely ruin your day_' Vance thought to himself. He reached the door, studying its features as he approached. The doors were about five of Vance stacked on top of each other, and looked to be a good few feet thick. Pentagrams and ornate demonic hieroglyphs were carved into the face of it, giving it as much of a look of wonderment as much as apprehension. He put his hands on the door on the right as he reached it, and gave as fierce of a push as his worn arms could muster.

The door slowly rumbled open, revealing nothing but darkness on the other side. When the door was open wide enough, Vance slipped in, his vision cutting out as he entered the blackness. The door rumbled closed by itself behind him, closing him in. A pale white light slowly began to light the room and he could make out his surroundings better.

He was in a small stone chamber, a dungeon probably, with a caged door on the right side of the room, and a small barred window on the wall opposite of him. The light was obviously from the clouds shifting away from the moon. He turned around to leave again, thinking he may have overlooked another way to go, but realized that the door had disappeared, trapping him inside the dungeon. He heard faint breathing from around the corner of the room, and he immediately drew his sword and poised to attack.

He moved forward slowly until a figure came into view, hunched down upon itself on the floor, apparently in pain. When it looked up at him, he gasped. He was looking into the face of his father, who he had just killed not even hours beforehand.

"How…how are you here?" Vance asked, sheathing his weapon.

"You killed me, remember?" Apocalypse said. It was not his father but the manifestation his father had become. Apparently his father's soul was with his friends now.

"Where is here?" Vance asked curiously. Apocalypse let a few lung-shattering coughs before answering.

"Tartarus. Realm of eternal suffering. Jacob made sure I ended up here" Apocalypse said, his word strained.

"Somehow I envisioned Tartarus being a bit more…I don't know, fiery; doom and gloom and all that good stuff" Vance said sarcastically.

"You're thinking of the Titan's prison. They were imprisoned here millennia ago after the creation of the world. The gods saw them as a threat to the life on earth, so they were imprisoned here for all eternity, to suffer for the pain they caused above on earth" Apocalypse explained.

"So Tartarus has more than one area?" Vance asked.

"Of course. It's an entire world unto itself. Any Hell-dweller fears this place more than they fear their own master, Satan himself" Apocalypse said.

"Satan fears this place too?" Vance asked, curious.

"Well of course. He fears what he cannot control. His realm is Hell and Hell alone. Tartarus makes its own rules. It can change itself at will and destroy what it wishes. But to those who can survive it, it surely holds treasures and secrets beyond all belief" Apocalypse said, a small smirk crossing his face. Vance mulled it over in his head for a moment before speaking again.

"Okay. Well thanks for the info and all the luck in the world to you" he said, turning his back to Apocalypse and heading to the gated door.

"Your powers won't last long in this place. I'd be wary of them if I were you" Apocalypse taunted, then started laughing maniacally to himself. Vance reached the bars and gave them a hearty kick. The metal frame shot from the doorway and smashed into the wall opposite him.

'_If you say so, crazy man…_' Vance thought to himself, walking out of the cell. He made his way through the dungeon and found a sturdy wooden door to the outside. He opened it and left the dungeon.

One look at his surroundings and he knew that Apocalypse was right about Tartarus; no rules.

The sky was a deep crimson red, acid green clouds swirling around in all directions. He was standing in a desert covered in dark purple sand, bursts of flame shooting from the ground every now and then. Around him some areas rippled with heat as hot spots in the air fried the area and charred the ground around them. Demons roamed the lands, fighting everything in sight, even each other on occasion.

Vance was an obvious target as soon as one laid its eyes on him. They were red, about four times the size of a large dog, with amassed teeth sticking out of their mouths everywhere. Their skin looked more like muscle than anything, and great crimson horns protruded from either side of their heads and curled until they pointed forward. Glowing red eyes pierced through the front of their faces.

Vance drew his sword and prepared to fight. One reached him and he took its head off easily. Two more ambushed him from behind and he took two legs off of one and smashed a horn of the other into its head, killing it. It was then that he realized there was no longer a door or any type of building behind him anymore; it had disappeared completely.

Three slain demons lay at his feet, staining the sand red. Winds billowed in his face as he sheathed his sword.

'_Well, where to now, smart guy…_' he thought to himself. As if in answer to his question, the world around him started to morph and change, becoming a wrecked city, much like the ones he'd seen on earth. Dead bodies were strewn across the streets and demons ran amok all around him. He unsheathed his sword once more and began fighting them one by one, slaying them where they stood.

When he had the direct area secured, he began walking down the street in search of more enemies, not bothering to sheath his sword.

'_What else can I do? I don't see anything that can help me yet_'. He had already tried teleporting, but that power of his was dead already, he couldn't use it to go anywhere. He found more demons and laid waste to them as well. He wasn't sure if he was going crazy or not, but it seemed like the buildings were moving closer and closer in on him.

Suddenly, two skyscrapers in front of him slammed together, blocking his path, and by the grinding and crunching from behind him and to the sides, he guessed many of them had done the same thing. He was now trapped in a giant cubicle of buildings and open space, about the size of a small park.

Cracks opened up in the ground and demons began flooding out, rushing him from all sides. He slew the poor few that approached him from the front, parting their heads and relieving them of their limbs.

One caught him in the calf from behind with a small jagged blade, making him stumble slightly. He wheeled around with his blade and hacked the thing's head off. He was so concerned with the enemies in front of him that he failed to notice the small gathering of demons behind him.

The creatures began piling on top of each other and glowing brighter and brighter. Seams between each demon began to seal closed as the giant pile became on giant demon, about two stories high and as wide as a large semi truck. Vance turned only to the sound of the deep growling the giant repulsive beast was making. Before he had time to react, it swung one of its massive arms at him and smacked him through the air and into the side of a building.

Spikes suddenly sprouted out of the ground where he was about to the land, and he kicked off of the building and soared over and past them, landing on his feet a few yards from the giant beast. All the other smaller demons had retreated back into their holes.

Vance lunged forward, slashing at the things massive legs, trying to get some leverage on it. His attacks had all the effectiveness of hitting a grizzly bear with a stick. The thing swung down again, this time grabbing him up, and tossed him harshly into the ground. A small crater formed around where he landed, and he was knocked out. The thing then scooped him up again, and jumped down into a crack in the ground.

The smell of strong ash and brimstone awoke him from his involuntary slumber. When he opened his eyes they were blurred and slightly crossed from the strong head impact. He rubbed them for a minute and shook his head lightly to straighten his vision. He then took in his surroundings.

He was in what looked like a black stone cell with steel bars for a door. It was not unlike the cell he arrived in, except much more cave-like, and he was the only occupant. He no longer had his sword; he obviously knew that would be taken.

'_Well this is just peachy. I'm a prisoner in the realm of suffering, my powers are gone, and I'm completely defenseless…' _he thought to himself. He heard footsteps approaching from outside and poised himself. A squat, fiery demon appeared before the bars outside his cell and stared at him, its eyes glowing red.

"Where are you from?" it asked demandingly, its voice scratchy and growling.

"None of your damn business, shorty" Vance taunted, ready for anything. The demons eyes immediately flashed brighter at the words and it raised an arm at him. Suddenly, flames filled the cell and seared Vance where he stood. He screamed in agony and dropped to the floor, more out of instinct than thought.

The front of him was protected, but his shirt was burned off his back and the flesh on his back burned and charred. When it was over, blood was pooling on his back and tears were streaming down his face.

"Not so tough without our little weapons and trickery now are we?" the demon growled gleefully. "Next time I ask you a question, you answer it fully, you maggot" the demon finished, and then marched off.

Vance was left on the ground bleeding in agony. Thankfully, his quick healing was a family trait, not an ability, so they couldn't take that away from him. He could already feel what was left of his flesh cooling itself.

He sat up, careful not to scrape against the wall, and stared out of the cell door at the flickering orange lights on the walls.

'_How're you gonna get yourself out of this one, Vance_…' he thought to himself. Slowly, he drifted into unconsciousness.

His days went on like this for some time; a demon would show up at his cell with some type of torture device, and they would question him. He never told them anything, and they made him pay. They never killed him, they made him think they did though, and many times he wished they'd had. Eventually his skin bore countless blade marks and scorch marks and numerous kinds of scars.

It was one night that his golden opportunity came. He lay on the floor of his cell sleeping, twitching and shaking violently, when suddenly, his mind cleared; he thought of nothing. Then, a voice began to speak to him in his mind, a vaguely familiar voice.

"I've been watching you, Vance. You've endured more than any mortal could ever wish to have endured in three lifetimes. You should be proud" the voice said, praising him.

"They're not going to keep me alive much longer, I know it" Vance replied. The torturing had gotten longer and worse each time in the past days, leaving him even more wounded and dazed afterwards. He knew that eventually, he wouldn't wake up afterwards.

"I know how to get you out of here, and I'm going to help you. Without you your world is doomed" the voice said.

"How will you be able to get me out of here?" Vance asked his full attention now on the voice.

"There is an artifact here in Tartarus that you must find. It will take you home, back to your world, so you may combat this evil head-on" the voice explained.

"What is this artifact?" Vance asked eagerly.

"It is called the Mortaegis, and it is a stone sphere with ancient markings on it that glow the color of bleeding wounds" the voice said, "It alone holds the power to get you out of here and back home. Unfortunately it is heavily guarded near the cells of the titans, so getting it will be no easy task. I can only offer you one thing to help you, and then I must leave, so I'm giving you your psychic abilities back. Hopefully those will give you the edge you need to survive. Remember, Vance, you are strong, yes, but you are also mortal. Never forget that" the voice finished, and then dissipated.

Vance awoke with a start, and could feel the power flowing through his veins. He was still nowhere near as powerful as he had been on Earth, but at least it was something. He held a hand out towards the bars of his cell, and his hand began glowing purple. The bars suddenly jerked sideways, tearing from the stone wall, and shot outwards into the abyss. He ran out of the cell and looked around.

His cell wasn't the only one here; there were thousands of cells. He was standing on a stone ledge that looked over a huge pit before him, fire brimming the edges below. Above and below him on similar ledges, running as far as the eye could see, were more cells. They ran upwards as far as he could see and downwards as far as he could see.

He turned left and began running. People and creatures in the passing cells began yelling at him for help, slowly causing the cavernous prison to get louder and louder. He tried to hush them as he ran, but to no avail. He reached the end of the long ledge, and by now almost every prisoner in the prison was yelling for freedom. Vance held his arms out and they started glowing purple.

'_I could use a diversion…_' he thought to himself. He jerked his arms to the side and every cell door in the room flew out towards the giant pit. Small figures began to dart all over the place, looking for weapons and a way out. Vance turned towards the small wooden door before him and kicked it open. It gave way to a small hallway with another small wooden door at the end. He reached the door and kicked it open, then stared in awe.

The area before him was made entirely of black stone, underneath a blood red sky with swirling purple clouds. Fire stemmed up from cracks in the ground and walls, and giant pools of lava spanned out here and there all over the place. Off in the distance he could see hills made of the same black rock, rolling into the far distance. Atop one that he could barely see was a black building with torches all over it, and a grand set of stone stairs leading to the doorway.

'_That has to be the entrance to the titan's prison_' he thought. He then began running towards it full force. He made sure to conserve most of his energy, only attacking the stronger demons that attacked him. His thoughts focused on one thing; Joe.

'_That voice could only have been him, who else could have the power to reach to Tartarus and help me escape?_' he thought to himself. Small fiery demons ran at him from both sides as he charged forward. Many of them easily dispatched with a single thought. He came to a rope bridge over a river of raging magma.

"Well this definitely looks promising" he joked to himself. Many of the planks of wood that made up the bridge were flaming. He ran across as fast as he could, not thinking about the raging flames beneath him.

It took him the better part of a half hour, but he finally reached the grand black temple. There were gargoyle heads on either side of the entrance with flaming torches atop the heads. Wooden doors were set into a black onyx building with red glowing windows.

"Well, here goes nothing" Vance said to himself, approaching the door. The big wooden door opened with a very loud creak, and he stepped inside. He was in a moderately sized room with nothing in it but a staircase at the far end made of the same onyx as the rest of the building. The room glowed brightly red, though no source of lighting could be seen.

He made his way across the room and began his descent down the stairs. Many red-glowing torches lit his way down the stairs. The stone in the walls slowly began changing from black onyx to a normal colored concrete the lower he trekked. The ground lightly rumbled and growled as he walked, as if his progression forward was angering it.

'_You never know in this place, the whole world could be pissed off at me and I wouldn't even know it_' Vance thought to himself. He finally reached the bottom and took a look around.

He was in a giant room made completely of concrete bricks. The cool air indicated that he must be a good distance underground. Cracks in the ground showed magma flowing beneath the floor and let little bursts of heat up into the room every now and then. Loud growls could be heard in the distance and the ground rumbled every few seconds.

'_That sounds promising_' he thought to himself. He made his way through the room, looking around curiously at his surroundings.

As he walked, he could have sworn he heard footsteps following behind him. He stopped to listen, but he heard nothing as he stopped. He then continued, but heard the footfalls once again as he walked. He turned quickly as came face-to-face with Pat. He did a double take as he jumped backwards, but when he looked again, he was gone.

'_Getting a bit jumpy now, Vance, just calm yourself down..._' he thought to himself, taking a deep breath in. He set out through the chamber again, slowly losing himself in thought.

'_I can't wait until this hell is over. I want nothing more than to just sit back at home with nothing to worry about except what I have to eat for the day. I've had enough demons and fiery caves to last me a lifetime..._' he thought to himself. But something deep in the recesses of his mind knew that there was no going home after this adventure; this was a one way trip.

He came to the end of the chamber; a wall that was at least twenty of himself stacked up, with a giant black onyx door set into it, encrusted with jewels and stones of all types.

'_This looks promising..._' he thought to himself. The ground gave a small rumble in response as he approached the door. He pushed with all his might and the door ground open slowly against the floor. He found himself in yet another long hall, but this one was more important.

Lined on either side of the hall were rows of prison cells, the bars on the cell doors made simply of beams of lasers running from the top of the cell door to the bottom. Inside the cells were creatures he'd heard of only in myths and stories, the original ones; the Titans.

Each was about fifty feet tall, each with distinct different features, much like humans. Most of them were sleeping, but the others that weren't were pounding against the walls and shouting in anguish, trying to release themselves from their godly prisons. Vance made his way slowly down the hallway, hoping that the waking ones wouldn't see him creeping by.

It was tedious work, seeing as how each Titan cell door was about fifteen feet across, and just as high as the Titans were tall.

'_Just walk slowly...take small, deliberate steps...don't fall..._' he told himself. He snuck past cell after cell, gazing in at the occupants as he went past. He finally came to the last cell on the left before the next door out of the prison. He knew right away that this occupant was different than the rest, more grand. Though when he looked inside the cell, he saw nothing but a giant stone casket on the floor of the cell. There were 3 different laser grids on the door to this cell, which made him ponder.

'_Why put so much more extra security on a casket?_' he asked himself. A voice then suddenly sounded in his head that sent icicles through his veins. He immediately knew who the occupant of the cell was now; Kronos, king of the Titans.

"Fear not, small one, for I am no threat to you through this cell and inside this stone prison. But know this, through that door, you must make a decision. You must decide whether to go home, and risk your world, or sacrifice yourself here, and save all those on your planet" Kronos boomed in his head.

"What are you talking about? Whatever's in that room, the Mortaegis or whatever that guy called it, will send me home, so I can help protect my friends" Vance said.

"Sometimes, things are not as they seem small one. Know that" Kronos said, and then was silent. Vance pondered his words for a moment, and then made his way to the final door. It ground open much like the door to the prison did.

He arrived in a simple circular chamber, with round steps leading up in the center of the chamber to a pedestal in the center of the room. Atop the pedestal was a grey circular stone, about half the size of his head, with a strange, almost demonic symbol emblazoned on the front in red.

'_The Mortaegis..._' he thought to himself. He approached it slowly, almost expecting it to hurl itself off the pedestal at him. Nothing happened though as he reached out and grabbed it off the pedestal.

"Now what?" he asked aloud. Almost instantly, the world around him began to distort and blacken out. He began spinning quickly, rising above everything, leaving Tartarus and the chamber behind him. Then a bright white light flashed all around him, he stopped spinning, and knew no more.

Out in the spinning darkness and star-dotted skies of oblivion, an evil presence watched Vance's progress with great interest. Pat nodded smugly as a shimmering veil showed Vance sprawled on the ground unconscious with a grey circular stone in his hand.

"Master, he has retrieved the artifact, all is as you've planned" Pat said, rushing over to Fate.

"Excellent. Prepare the troops for the final invasion. Now is the time for our final strike" Fate replied, standing up.

"As you wish, lord" Pat replied, and ran off.

Vance's head felt as if he had been hit by a 747 airliner. His vision swirled slightly as he tried to stand up.

"Well, that's what I get for escaping from Tartarus alive" he said to himself jokingly. His clothing reeked of sulfur and smoke. He heard footsteps and immediately had the instinct to fight, but through the fog of his vision he saw a friendly face.

"Vance! Oh my god, Vance! You're alive! I can't believe it! We thought you were a goner!" Erk shouted as he ran up. Vance all but collapsed on his shoulder, making Erk stumble for a second.

"Well, you can't always take things as they seem sometimes" Vance replied, "Where're the others?" he asked, his vision almost back to normal, standing on two feet again. Erk looked down slightly at these words.

"Kristine is dead; Fate killed her with one of his illusions. And I don't know where Anna is, we got separated about a year ago now" Erk answered, his tone grave. Vance's head immediately began to race at Erk's words.

"A _year?!_ I've only been gone for a couple of weeks!" he replied in an outrage. But Vance already knew what had happened before Erk even opened his mouth. Time in Tartarus goes much slower than time here on Earth.

'_At least ten times slower, if I'd only been there a couple weeks..._' he thought to himself. It was then that Erk finally noticed Vance's physical state.

"Dude, you look like hell" he said.

"No, but close" Vance joked, sitting down on a nearby boulder.

"So how did you escape?" Erk asked, sitting down across from him. Vance finally took a look at his surroundings.

He was in a big city, possibly Chicago or New York. Buildings lay destroyed all around, giant chunks of stone lodged in the ground, much like the ones he and Erk were sitting on. Skeletons and bones littered the ground around the city; casualties of war.

"Did you hear me, Vance? I asked how you escaped. It apparently wasn't easy, you've got scars all over you" he said again. Vance then explained about the prophet that came to him in his sleep, and the torturing and the Mortaegis.

"Sounds like a lot of fun" Erk joked. Vance nodded, staring at the stone in his hands.

"We need to find Anna and put an end to this once and for all" Erk said, standing up.

"I'd agree with you, except that I don't have any of my equipment, they took it from me when I arrived in the prison" Vance said, also standing up. Erk gave him a look as if he thought Vance had lost his mind.

"What are you talking about, dude? Your sword is sheathed on your back" Erk replied, thinking it was a joke. Vance stood motionless for a moment, and then reached back behind his neck. Sure enough, there was a cold, metal hilt in a leather sheathe on his back.

"Huh. This war just surprises me more and more" he said, taking his hand off the hilt of his sword.

"And your armor is scattered on the ground behind that boulder" Erk said, pointing, "I saw it as I ran towards you" he finished. Vance gazed around the boulder and saw his red case of armor lying discarded on the ground.

"Lovely" Vance replied, attaching it to himself again. With all his equipment and powers finally back, he felt almost like himself again. There was this itching lump in the pit of his stomach, as if something were missing. Or something new was there that wasn't before. He couldn't tell if it was good or bad, so he left it alone for now.

"Now, to find Anna" Vance said. Erk circled in close by Vance as Vance closed his eyes to focus. He formed a mental visage of Anna, and put all his power forth. They flashed white, and disappeared.

Anna's face twitched as she lay on her back, fast asleep. Her dreams had been haunting her for weeks now, disturbing her so she awoke in screaming fits and cold sweat. She bolted upright quickly, face dripping with sweat and eyes bulging wide open.

'_Get a grip on yourself..._' she told herself. Images of Erk being slaughtered by demons had run across her mind non-stop since she'd been rescued by Eli about a year ago now.

When she had been rescued, she had been taken to a small town near where Joe's and Vance's old house was, so she decided to hold up there for a while. But a while ended up turning into a year all too quickly. She got up off the couch and stretched her back.

"So, lassie returns home, eh?" she heard a voice say from behind her. As quick as a breath, she spun in place, and pulled a dagger from her pocket, poised to attack. When she looked into the faces of the intruders, though, the knife dropped from her hand and her mouth hung agape.

"Yeah, we did too" Erk said, smirking. She took a few slow steps forward, towards Vance, and laid a hand on the side of his face, making sure he was real. She then did it to Erk confirming that they were really there. Tears welled up in the pits of her eyes.

"You...you guys made it...finally" she said, a wide grin forming on her face. Her expression then turned to anguish and she broke down on Vance's shoulder.

"Its okay, let it all out. It's all over for now" he said, patting her on the back. He turned to Erk.

"Go get a pack of smokes" he said casually. Erk looked surprised.

"I didn't know you smoked" he replied. Vance's face dropped to and expression of utter seriousness.

"I was in Tartarus for a year. The ONLY thing that happens there is smoking" Vance said. Erk couldn't tell if he was joking or not, so he headed out the door. Anna finally calmed herself down and walked over to the couch to sit. Vance took a look around.

'_Not much different than when we'd left_' he thought to himself. Anna had kept the house looking somewhat presentable, but other than that it didn't look a day older than when they set out for that accursed chamber.

"I didn't think I'd see either of you guys again" Anna said, breaking Vance's trance. Her voice was still shaky but the tears were gone.

"Neither did I" Vance replied honestly. He took to gazing at the Mortaegis once again, studying the symbol on the front.

"What's that?" Anna asked curiously, noticing the stone for the first time.

"The only reason I'm on earth once again" Vance said, not looking up.

"Do you know what it does?" she asked.

"No clue" he answered, putting it down at his side. Erk walked through the door with a pack and a lighter in his hand and threw them to Vance. Vance took one and lit it, then inhaled deeply, relaxation written all over his face.

"I didn't know you smoked, Vance" Anna said. Vance didn't even look down from the ceiling.

"I don't feel like explaining it again" he replied simply. Erk cut in.

"Alright, so now that we're together again, what are we supposed to do now?" he asked.

"Got me, I'm sure ol' Fate-face will have something planned for us soon. No doubt he watched me arrive back from his silly little trap in Tartarus" Vance said, looking down from the ceiling to look Erk in the eyes. No sooner had they made eye contact, there was an explosion from outside so loud that the walls of the house shook, sending drywall and dust floating everywhere.

"What the hell...?" Erk said, standing up. Vance put the pack in his back pocket, picked up Joe's old backpack, put the Mortaegis in it and slung it over his back, his sword now sheathed on his side again. They ran outside only to witness more destruction.

Beings of total shadow were laying waste everywhere, destroying buildings, making craters, throwing trees and people everywhere. Vance and Anna unsheathed their swords.

"Boy does it feel good to be home" Vance joked, taking a drag from his cigarette. He jumped forward and began hacking at every being he could find. Some looked like old demons he had fought before, only composed solely of shadow; no flesh, no blood, nothing. Many others looked like knights with long swords and shields.

Anna picked up pace and began fighting as well. Erk began launching fireballs left and right at the invaders, burning them alive. A knight came up behind Vance as he was hacking away at a shadow demon and took a swipe at his head. Vance sensed it and ducked just in time. He saw a few of his brown hairs flutter to the ground in front of him.

"I'm like the wind" Vance taunted, shoving his sword through what would be the face of the knight. It immediately dissipated. He took a quick drag from his cigarette and heard a big demon lumber up behind him. He exhaled quickly and smashed the hilt of the sword into the thing's face as he whipped around. He then slashed it through the neck and it was gone. In time they defeated all the shadows in the area and huddled together again.

"Ten bucks says that this wasn't his only target" Vance said, flicking away the cigarette butt.

"Of course it wasn't, these things may not have been hard to kill, but they can definitely destroy. Almost the entire city is in ruins now. Imagine what's happening in other cities" Erk explained.

"Oh, but I _know _what's going on in other cities, I _sent _them there" a cold voice sounded behind them. The three of them turned to see Pat standing there, the tip of his sword on the pavement so he could lean on the hilt. He locked eyes with Vance immediately, and began walking forward slowly, applauding. His sword stayed where he left it, hilt pointing up.

"Well done, Vance. Not many can say that they escaped from Tartarus. I applaud your efforts" he taunted, not breaking eye contact with Vance.

"Funny, you don't seem like the approving sort, Pat. Not since that freak made you into his key sideshow attraction" Vance said, staring just as intently. Pat snarled and began walking towards his sword again, lifting it up on his shoulder.

Vance then suddenly burst forward, bringing his blade down quickly towards Pat. Pat had just enough time to shift his sword to his front before Vance's blade clanged upon it. Vance bounced off it, and came at him again full-force, swinging furiously. He got a lucky shot at Pat's upper arms and slashed through the flesh. Pat cried out in anguish in his demonic voice, his free hand immediately covering the wound on his arm. Yellow blood began dripping from the wound.

"Just wait, you'll get yours" Pat threatened, then absorbed into the ground into a pool of shadow and disappeared. Vance lit another cigarette and looked around.

"Well, I guess that constitutes a job well done" he said, walking back over to Erk and Anna.

"We have to find where they're hiding, it's our only chance to end this" Anna said.

"_Excellent _idea, just one problem; we have _no _idea of where they are" Vance said sarcastically, "Did Fate say anything to you since I've been gone?" he asked.

"The day you left, when we ran out of that chamber, he had let some of his goons loose around the entrance and he was talking to us, I just don't remember what he said" Anna explained, wracking her brain to remember.

"He said '_my power is not great enough yet to break the seal holding me here in the Lair. But the lair is closer to home than you may think, for me anyway_'" Erk said, remembering his words exactly. Vance pondered that for a few moments, taking a couple drags on his cigarette as he thought.

'_The lair is closer to home than you may think...what the hell does that mean. He was Nate's dad in real life, but Nate could have no idea that his dad was a crazy evil deity bound for world domination'_ Vance thought to himself. He took a look at his surroundings.

"Let's go for a walk guys. I think better that way" Vance called out. He started down the street, still thinking, canvassing his surroundings as he went. He took a left turn at the end of the street, wandering about as he thought.

'_The lair _is _his home, so why would he call it 'close to home' in the first place? Unless he had a double meaning for it. That would make more sense. He doesn't have a home on earth, he's Fate. Unless..._' Vance thought. He stopped dead in his tracks and Erk and Anna almost ran into him.

"Whoa! What was that all about?" Erk asked. Vance stared straight ahead of him, looking down the street at a house that he knew all too well. He flicked the cigarette butt away and began running towards the house.

"Vance! Wait up!" Erk called.

"I figured it out. When he said 'the lair is closer to home than you may think', he wasn't talking about us; he was talking about him, his _old _home, while he was still human!" Vance called back as he ran.

"But that would mean that..." Erk started, but almost ran into Vance again as he stopped.

"Alright, dude. You gotta stop doing that" Erk said.

"That means that _this_ is the entranceway to the lair" Vance said, staring at the house in front of him.

It was Nate's old house, tattered and slightly destroyed, but still standing. Portions of the walls were missing, no doubt from the demonic invasions. They could see right through the house to the backyard, and the front door was lying out in the lawn.

"Nate was living on the doorway to Fate's lair his whole life and didn't even know it?" Anna asked.

"Apparently. His dad got taken to the same world that Joe and my dad did, but he found a way home somehow, because he had figured out that his own house was the gateway to eternal power for him. That's why he and my father were fighting, because Fate found a way to put himself into total power, and my dad was trying to talk him out of it" Vance explained. He approached the house, walking through the open doorway.

Right to his left was a door that he knew led to the basement. He had come here with Joe many times over the years to visit Nate. He opened the door and it creaked open loudly. A few rats on the landing below scurried away at the noise. They descended down the stairs into the basement and looked around.

Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, there were a washer and dryer in the corner on the far wall, old clothing scattered around the floor, the furnace and water heater against the wall behind them, and support beams standing around the room. Vance held a hand up and a sphere of light appeared in his palm, illuminating the room better.

They began inspecting the basement, looking for anything that could be a doorway to another dimension. After a half hour they were beginning to get irritated.

"Oh! I know what happened! Jacob jumped into his washer, put it on heavy load, and it transported him to a throne of power!" Vance said angrily. He turned around and kicked the water heater over. Old stagnant water spilled over the floor and began leaking all around the basement. Then Vance saw something very strange.

Everywhere the water ran, the floor darkened and got soaked, but in the center of the room, there was a square of the floor that had avoided getting wet, as if the water evaporated or drained before it reached it. He ran over to it through the puddles and examined the edges.

"Guys, I think I found it" he said. They ran over to him quickly.

"This part of the floor, it has seams around it. It's a trap door" Vance said. He knocked on it hard, and sure enough a hallow echo sounded from the other side.

"No wonder Nate or his mom didn't find it, it blends in perfectly" Erk said. Vance wheeled back and punched the stone as hard as he could. His fist went right through it and the rest of the stone door collapsed inward into the tunnel. An old ladder was propped up against the wall leading down into the tunnel.

They went down the ladder, which was extremely rickety but held it's own, and started through the tunnel. Ancient engravings and runes were embedded into the walls around them, giving the hall an ethereal feel. They finally came to a large chamber that looked much like the one Vance visited in Tartarus with the Mortaegis in it. Except that in the center of the room, there wasn't a pedestal, but two curved metal spikes the rose from the ground and touched at the tips, forming a giant oval.

"Now _that_ could be the gateway to another dimension" Vance said, inspecting it from afar. They had found it, the Gateway of Fate.

"Now, how to activate it" Vance said, stepping forward and looking around the chamber. The others did the same, inspecting the area around the gateway. It was Anna who found it.

"Guys, over here! There's some kind of lever on the wall in this crevice!" she called out. They came over to her to look. Sure enough, there was an ancient looking lever in the wall, no more than a stone cylinder sticking out of a recess in the wall.

"Well, here goes nothing" Vance said, and pulled the lever. The spikes in the center of the room began glowing brightly white, then suddenly flashed.

Before where there had just been empty space between the spikes, there was now a shimmering blue veil.

"Well guys, you ready?" Vance asked, lighting another cigarette. They both nodded to him in agreement.

"Well then, let's do this" he said, shouldering his sword. They then stepped through the glowing veil and disappeared.

There was a glowing blue light as they arrived, and then all was dark. The only things they could see were each other, and the stars dotting the skies around them. They heard footsteps approaching to their right and poised to attack. The figure began applauding as he approached.

"You know, the whole clapping thing is getting really old, really fast" Vance said, irritated. There wasn't enough light to see who it was, but whoever it was kept approaching and clapping.

"Well, it certainly took you long enough to arrive, young one" the figure said. Piercing yellow eyes appeared out of the dim, and they immediately knew who they had found; Fate.

"Would have come even faster if you had offered a little more help, Fate-face" Vance replied, taking a drag.

"Come now, Vance. Why with the insults? You and Nate were such good friends in life, doesn't that count for anything?" Fate taunted, grinning mildly.

"Maybe if you were still human it would, but unfortunately you're not" Vance said, dropping the cigarette butt.

"Oh but I _am _still human, but only just barely. There's just one more small thing I need to make the process complete" Fate said, "That little trinket in your bag, Vance" he finished, pointing accusingly. It was then that he stepped out of the shadows to reveal himself.

He was exactly the same as when they has last seen him; long straight brown hair down to the base of his neck, pale white skin, a head taller than Vance, black robe with slack red sash over weighted black sweat pants, and barefoot feet.

"Why would you want the Mortaegis? It means nothing to you, it doesn't even really mean anything to me" Vance said, taken aback.

"Oh but it means the world to me, my little puppet" Fate replied, his smirk growing slightly.

"But, but that means that..." Vance started, his vision going out of focus for a moment as the realization hit him.

"That's right; _I _was the voice you heard on your little field trip to Tartarus, while you slept. How do you think you ended up there in the first place? I had to have the Mortaegis to complete my transformation and the finality of my plan. The soul embedded into the Mortaegis has more power than either of us, and combined with my power now, will give me the ability to break free of my prison and enslave your world that so greatly deserves it" Fate explained, an maniac grin on his face now.

"But then that means you planned it all from the very start. Even years ago when Joe and Nate entered the other realm for the first time" Vance said.

"Exactly. All part of the plan to release Satan and get you involved in it from the start. You may not know this, Vance, but you are so much stronger than your older brother. Joe would never have lasted a day in Tartarus, whereas you lasted a _year __and_escaped it. That's no small feat, young one" Fate explained.

"Liar! Joe is fifty times what I could ever _wish _to be!" Vance yelled, completely enraged now.

"Calm yourself, Vance. Remember what happened to your friends when your brother got too angry?" Fate taunted.

"I'm _not _Joe, you sick bastard. I have total control of my powers. I'd never hurt any of my friends" Vance said, his tone deathly serious.

"Oh? But what about this young man here?" Fate asked, indicating to his left. Pat then appeared, walking slowly towards them holding his injured arm.

"That, _thing _isn't my friend anymore. He isn't even human now. You took that away from him too" Vance said angrily. With a wave of Fate's arm towards Pat, the wound on his arm sealed instantly, leaving no trace that the skin had ever been broken.

"You see, Vance. Here in this domain, _I _have control. I do what I wish without consequence. And you know what the best part is? There's absolutely nothing you can do about it" Fate said, his voice seething. He then swung his arm like a blade, and all three of them, Vance, Erk, and Anna went tumbling backwards.

Vance's bag fell off his arm and bounced away from him. Fate stepped forward and picked it up.

"Oh, Vance, for me? You shouldn't have. People will start to talk" Fate joked, opening the bag. Vance watched in horror as Fate pulled the Mortaegis out of the bag, then incinerated the bag on the spot.

The symbol on the front of the stone began to glow brightly red, so bright that it became difficult to look at. It then suddenly stopped, and the stone exploded in Fate's hands, releasing an ethereal blue visage that floated over Fate's head. Maniacal laughter began to ring around them. Fate's mouth was shut in a wide grin, so Vance was confused as to where the laughter was coming from. It was then clear, as the blue visage began to change, that the laughter was coming from it.

"That...that can't be..." Vance said, taking a step back.

"Oh yes, it is, Vance. Say hello to an old friend" Fate said. The blue, translucent visage of Hakalahs floated in front of them tauntingly, a crazed grin on his face. His eyes glowed deathly red, other than that the rest of his body was a light blue. He was still wearing the trench coat and dark clothing, same as the day that Vance killed him. His long hair was still sticking straight up into the air, almost like a small pit of deadly spikes.

"Hello again, my friend. I hope you didn't miss me too much" Hakalahs taunted, his grin still spread widely across his smug face.

"Like I said, Vance, this realm gives me what I want. And right now, I want the power held within this soul. The power to _destroy all!_" Fate screamed, laughing maniacally. Hakalahs' soul began spinning, compacting into a glowing blue sphere, then lowered, sinking right into Fate's chest.

Vance immediately saw a change that he didn't like; Fate began growing, a lot. Within seconds he was twenty times his normal size, and his skin began turning red and scaly. His eyes glowed brightly green, like a deadly poison waiting to be unleashed. Blood red spikes grew all the way down from his neck, and his body compacted into a fleshy, scaly red cylinder, about fifty yards long.

His face elongated into a snout with a flat nose and razor sharp teeth the size of sword blades. His arms became smaller and his fingertips elongated into claws the size of Vance's head. His knees bent the opposite direction and his legs became ripped and beefy, strong enough to leave a building flatter than a sheet of paper. His hair grew longer and became razor sharp yellow spines, sticking straight up into the air. Within a span of thirty seconds, where Jacob had been standing, was now a giant red dragon, the size of a large skyscraper and longer than any subway train Vance had ever seen.

"You see what my true form is now, puny one?" Fate's voice boomed all around them. "I told you you were in over your heads. Now this place will become your tomb, and Earth will be mine!" he screamed, and then let out a bellowing roar.

"Why would you want to rule the earth now anyway? You've already destroyed most of it anyway, there's not much left to rule" Anna said.

"You don't pay too much attention, do you, little one. While in this realm, I can do what I wish. I will make the world whole again, and then it shall be mine to dominate. Unfortunately, you little maggots won't be alive long enough to be a part of my reign!" Fate bellowed, smoke billowing from his nostrils. Anna turned to Vance for help, but he was lost in thought, his pupils dilated to the fullest size.

"Now, let's see how you fare in my little 'final test', if you pass, you will be deemed worthy to fight me. Now _die!_" Fate bellowed. A bright white light consumed them all, and then all was dark. When their vision came back, they were separated once again.

'_He's using our fears against us again..._' Vance thought to himself. He was back in the demonic Oval Office where he and Hakalahs fought for the first time. He stood at the edge of the room, watching Joe stand in the center of the room with arms extended out at his sides; he had just given up his power of the Bloodline.

Hakalahs moved forward and shoved his blade right through Joe's stomach, lifting him up off of the ground. Blood stained the already dirt-infested ground. Hakalahs ripped his sword out of Joe's stomach, and then dissipated. Vance ran to Joe and caught him just before he hit the ground.

"Joe! Come on, man, I can't lose you again" Vance said desperately. He held a hand over Joe's stomach and tried to seal the wound. It was too late; he was gone again. Vance then broke down, letting Joe's lifeless form slide off of his leg. Tears splashed onto the ground next to Joe's body, absorbing into the dirt and dust littered on the floor. Laughter rang out in the room, and Vance sensed someone appear behind him.

"Amazing, isn't it, the power our fears have over us. And how weak we can be to stop them" Hakalahs sounded behind him. Vance stood up, gripping his sword so tightly in his hand that his knuckles burned with pain. He turned slowly, looking up into the face that he loathed so much.

"If he thinks that I fear you, he's sorely mistaken" Vance said simply, glaring at Hakalahs.

"No, you fear the loss of your brother. Even to this day it haunts your dreams. But you know, it's actually not that bad. You should have seen his face, just before I impaled him with my sword" Hakalahs taunted, drawing out the last words. Vance then pounced forth, sword in hand and swiped at Hakalahs. His blade was repelled with a loud clang and he was sent skittering backwards.

"Not good enough. Try again" Hakalahs said. Vance attacked again, this time quicker and stronger. Hakalahs' weight shifted with this blow, sending him back a few inches as he blocked.

"Very good. Now, my turn" Hakalahs said, rage filling his voice. He sprang forward, his blade a black blur through the air.

Vance landed a block to each swipe, the sound of metallic clangs and slashes filling the air. Vance hesitated once, not moving his blade quick enough, and Hakalahs took the opportunity. He slashed low at Vance and caught him on the side, slashing diagonally from behind his arm down to his waist. Vance cried out in pain and jumped back to examine the wound. Warm blood immediately began trickling down his side.

Vance was so full of rage that he couldn't even form words. It was then that his eyes started glowing white, and his breathing became heavier and more labored. The transformation was the quickest yet, his body adjusting to the differences between his normal form and his Bloodline form. Within ten seconds, he was the black, scaly demon once again, his clawed hand now matching the other one.

"Die, bastard" he growled, and surged forth, his wings opening as he ran. Hakalahs slashed at Vance's legs, only to have his blade bounce off with a loud clang. Vance's clawed toes caught the top of Hakalahs' head, and he kicked as hard as he could.

Hakalahs bowed his head with the blow, so Vance's claws only swiped the top of his head instead of impaling it. He cried out in a demon scream of agonizing pain, clutching the top of his head as black blood oozed down his face. Vance did a turn-around in the air and came back for another attack, this time seizing the blade from Hakalahs' hand and doing another turn-around in air, this time hovering in place.

Vance took aim, and threw the blade like a javelin. It flew with the speed of a lightning bolt, impaling Hakalahs through the forehead. Hakalahs' eyes opened wide until they bulged. His mouth hung agape, and a small trail of blood oozed from the side of his mouth, just before he fell back onto the ground. Vance lowered to the ground just as the world around him began to darken. White dots began to appear all around him in the sky, dotting the blackness like bullet holes.

The giant red visage of Fate appeared in front of him, just as menacing as he had been before, only this time he didn't feel as intimidating, now that Vance had taken his form of the Bloodline. Anna and Erk appeared on either side of him, shaken, but alive.

"You guys survived?" Vance growled.

"Yeah, Joe and Eli helped us again" Erk said. Vance then turned his gaze to Fate, who simply sat there watching them.

"You made a mistake this time, Fate" Vance growled, taking slow steps towards him. He was much further away than Vance thought; his size was greater than he thought.

"Oh? And what would that be, ant?" Fate boomed.

"You admitted that this world will give you anything you want. Well guess what, I want something too. And because you didn't _create _this realm, there's nothing you can do about it, either" Vance taunted in his growling voice. Fate's dragon face contorted into a sneer of rage.

"And I think you know exactly what I want, _Jacob_" Vance said.

"You can't wish me dead, puny one. My powers exceed even that of this realm. I am _immortal_" Fate bellowed, making Vance's elongated ears vibrate.

"Although that would be a comforting concept, that's not what I'm talking about" Vance said, still slowly walking towards him. Spheres of light began to appear all around Vance, one after the other, simple white spheres, glowing brighter with each passing second. Fate's face contorted with understanding just after it was too late to do anything.

The lights began to take shape, forming into human bodies, growing arms, hands, legs, feet, and heads. The lights grew brighter as more of the forms were completed, until the light burned at everyone's eyes if they held them open. When the light died, Fate roared in outrage.

Every member of the Apocalyptic Elect that had been killed now stood before him, very much alive. Pat looked around as if his world was crashing down around his ears. Joe stood next to Vance, staring up at Fate with a smug grin on his face. All the others were there, too; Eli, Marcus, Lyn, Mike, Nate, Flora, Jesse, Alicia, Hector, Kristine, and Sain, along with Erk and Anna, who looked more confident with their numbers now.

"Good to have you back, bro" Vance growled to Joe, looking to the side. Joe's purple hair came down to his shoulders. Vance then began taking his human form again, his energy to hold together the demon form leaving him. His body returned to normal, his clawed hand and all. He looked at his left hand, seeing it anew now.

"Looks like that was your last transformation, buddy" Joe said. They hugged briefly, and then turned their focus on Fate.

"You bumbling cretin! You're ruining everything!" Fate was bellowing, stomping his huge scaly feet in absolute outrage, "Pat! Get them!" he screamed, kicking Pat in the back, sending him forward. Pat unsheathed his blade, looking at them a little bit shaken.

"It's fifteen against one, Pat. Do you really want to fight all of us?" Vance asked, his own sword already drawn, the blue blade glimmering against all the stars. Pat took a quick look around, sweat dripping down his blue skin. He gave a quick wave of his arm and released a bright red wave of light, just as Joe impaled him through the chest with a grand silver longsword he had been holding. Pat's face contorted with pain as he fell to the ground, and then dissipated, leaving his blade behind.

Joe threw his sword away and picked up Pat's sword, it being much longer and sharper than his previous sword.

"Hey! Guys! We got a problem!" Eli sounded from behind them. Vance and Joe turned to see all of their friends trapped inside individual red barriers, holding them in place. Vance ran up to Erk's barrier and knocked on it. His hand was repelled away so fast that his shoulder almost popped out of place.

"We'll just have to wait until it wears off" Vance said, moving his shoulder around in place to make sure it was okay.

"Great, so now you two get to have your asses handed to you, and all we can do is watch?" Nate asked angrily.

"Pretty much, just hold tight, it won't be long" Joe said, shouldering the giant black blade. They then turned their attentions on Fate, who stood there, a hint of a smirk on his face.

"Ah, yes, what a lovely family reunion. Now you both get to witness each others' deaths. You'll be joining your imbecile father soon" Fate said, taking position to attack. Vance and Joe poised their swords to attack.

"Ready for the fight of your life, shorty?" Joe taunted, smirking to Vance.

"Hey, watch it, buddy. I brought you back" Vance said, also grinning.

"I know. And thanks. Ready?" Joe said, getting on his mark.

"Ready" Vance replied.

They then charged blades up and ready for whatever happened, victory or death.

Vance bounded off the ground and did a front flip just before impaling his sword into Fate's giant foot. A roar of pain and rage sounded from above him as he removed the sword and jumped away, ready for a counter-attack. Fate's nostrils billowed smoke just as he released a wave of inferno right at Vance. In mid-air, Vance couldn't move away fast enough and was prepared for the heat when he felt a shove from his left and he went flying away from the flames.

He instinctively thought Joe and was prepared to see his charred body when the flames subsided, but gasped in surprise when the heat cleared. Nate was standing where Vance would have landed, completely unharmed.

"But...how did...?" Vance stuttered, completely flabbergasted.

"Are you really surprised? Tell him Joe, how many times have I escaped from things?" Nate said sarcastically, his red blade on his shoulder. Joe was busy though, jumping up Fate's red, scaly body, using the dragon's bulging muscles as footholds to jump on. Vance turned and saw that the others were still trapped.

"Here goes nothing" he said, and charged again, Nate at his side. Joe made it up to the beast's chest and shoved his sword right where his heart should be. The beast bellowed in pain and writhed so much that Joe fell off and left his blade impaled in Fate's chest. It was then that Vance realized the beast wasn't bellowing in pain; he was _laughing_.

The sword in his chest slowly pushed its way out of the flesh, and clanged to the ground loudly.

"How many times do I have to tell you maggots? I'm _immortal_, you cannot kill me!" Fate bellowed, giving another hallow fit of maniacal laughs.

'_There has to be a weakness we're not seeing...we just need to keep fighting_' Vance thought to himself. He ran around the back of Fate, jumping over his tail as it came at him, spikes first. He used the side of the tail as a support, and did a back flip off of it, landing on his feet and kept running. He sensed it coming back behind him and jumped, flipping just in time, as the spikes narrowly grazed his back, slicing his shirt slightly under the armor. The breastplate fell off him as he landed and he kept running.

He jumped onto the beast's back and started climbing, using the spikes to propel himself up. He got to the beast's neck and motioned to impale his sword into the beast's neck. As the blade made contact, a loud clang rang out, and Vance was propelled off, down 3 or 4 stories to the ground, he managed to upright himself and landed on his feet, the only minor pain being in his ankles.

"Haven't you read the stories, Vance? A dragon's back is harder than any steel, impervious to damage" Joe explained. Vance swore under his breath, just as Fate's eyes began to glow brighter.

"Get ready guys!" Joe shouted, getting ready for some fancy acrobatics. Fate then released green beams of lasers from his eyes, at least ten of them, roaming randomly around them.

Joe jumped and rolled between them, narrowly avoiding each one. Vance flipped back and forth, going over and under beams that approached him. His foot slipped on a jump, and he used his blade to deflect a beam that came at his face. Nate used his sword as a bat and hit the beams back at the beast, which then simply deflect off, upward into the nothingness. Finally the beams ended and they had a moment to catch their breath.

Vance was panting heavily, not used to all the acrobatic work after his prison time in Tartarus. His mind lapsed for a moment as he thought of the prison cell, his whole trip being projected across his eyes. A chill ran down his spine as he remembered the voice in the last cell of the Titan prison. Kronos, king of the Titans. Surely if he had been decimated enough to fit into that small casket, he should be dead. But no, he was immortal, he couldn't die. Surely any immortal in any period of time would fear...

It was then that it hit Vance.

"I've got it guys, hold on" Vance yelled. Fate reared back, preparing for another blast of inferno, just as Vance yelled to him.

"Hey! Snout man!" he taunted, trying to get his attention. Fate looked down slowly at him, his eyes deathly angry.

"So you like to play the fear game, eh? Well guess what, there's something else that I want, and your home is gonna graciously grant it to me" Vance said, a small smirk playing across his face.

"I fear nothing, mortal. I cannot be touched" Fate growled.

"Yeah yeah, I know, _'almighty immortal_' and whatnot, but guess what, you _do _fear something" Vance said, his tone serious now.

"And what would that be, human?" Fate asked daringly.

"Mortality" Vance said finality in his tone.

Fate's eyes widened to the point of bulging, the green light glowing a little brighter. The dragon's body became encased in white light, and then shattered like a thousand shards of brightly lit glass, shattering his immortality with it.

"No, you shouldn't be able to do that! I'm...!" Fate bellowed in absolute outrage.

"I know, you're more powerful than this place. But I didn't wish for you to die, I wished for your greatest fear, which just so happens to be your very own mortality" Vance said, poising his sword for attack. He then charged, ramming his sword into Fate's foot once again, this time scalding, green blood spilled out of the wound, steaming as it trickled to the ground.

Fate roared in agonizing pain as never he had before. He unleashed another bout of flame as Nate pushed the other two out of the way, taking the blast for them. He came out unscarred once again, and slashed around at the beast's calf, causing him to tip to the side, losing balance.

Joe ran to the other leg and did the same, making the giant beast fall forward to its knees. Vance fell to one knee, beginning to glow purple, channeling his psychic power into his blade.

"Your scales may be harder than steel, Fate. But they can't repel what they can't touch!" he yelled, his sword now glowing brightly purple. He swung as hard as he could as the beast's neck, detaching his head. Smoke billowed from Fate's nose for a moment longer, and then all was silent as the beast quietly died.

Vance began to glow dimly yellow, and a small glowing sphere left his chest. It hovered in front of him for a moment, and then took the form of the old lady he had seen so long ago.

"Congratulations, Vance. You won." the prophet said. Vance couldn't see her face under the hood, but he knew she was smiling. It was then that they saw the glowing blue light from behind them.

They turned just in time to see the soul of human Jacob come at them with clawed hands bared. The prophet took the sword from Vance's hand and held it forth, chanting in a strange language that Vance couldn't understand at all. As Jacob collided with the blade, he was absorbed into it, not a trace of his translucent being left. The blade vibrated and hummed loudly, glowing red.

The blue slowly began to fade to black as the red light faded. Instead of a soothing sea-blue, the blade of the sword was now jet black, and reflected red in the light of the stars.

"His prison, for now" the prophet said, sticking the point of the sword into the ground.

"What do you mean for now? I thought he was dead?" Vance asked. He heard footsteps behind him and assumed that the others had escaped from their prisons, the barriers fading with Pat and Fate's souls.

"You made his body mortal, Vance, which was very good. But the soul will forever be immortal unfortunately, which is why he must be imprisoned for all eternity, lest he escape and find a mortal shell to control" the prophet explained.

She removed the hood over her face, and gray hair spilled out over her shoulders. The dark green cloak she wore made her pale skin even more pronounced, which also brought out the age wrinkles in her face. Her soothing blue eyes bore into Vance's face, reading him like a book.

"Hi, mom" Vance said calmly. She nodded in return.

"You've grown so much, Vance. Both of you have. Which is why I'm so heartbroken to have to say goodbye" she said.

"Goodbye?" Joe asked.

"Of course I can't stay on the mortal plane now, with my identity revealed" she said. Vance nodded in understanding.

"In addition, this monster will only stay confined with a strong seal, a seal of human life and elements" Vance's mother explained, "Fire, Earth, Water, Air, and Light. All five must be used to keep a being such as this in check. Nate, I bestow upon you, the seal of Fire. Eli, the seal of Water. Hector, the seal of Earth. Joe, my son, the seal of Air. And Vance, most importantly, I bestow upon you, the seal of Light, and the burden of the Black Blade, the Prison" she announced.

Nate, Eli, Hector, Joe, and Vance all began glowing different colors in respect to the elements bestowed upon them. The prophet then touched the point of the Blade to Vance's chest, and it absorbed completely into his body.

"The Light of your soul will keep the Darkness in the Blade in check. But remember, no matter how seductive the power of the Blade is, you must never release it. The soul cannot escape unless all of the other four elements are destroyed. This is why I chose the strongest of you legendary warriors to bear the burden of the seals. You will have prolonged life and greater powers, enhanced with your respective elements. The power of the blade will radiate from you, Vance, and it just may affect humanity as well. The corruption cannot be stopped, but you Warriors can fend off the effects in the world. I'm sure of it" the prophet finished.

"What world? Everything was destroyed" Anna said.

"Not everything is as it seems, little one. Now, I think it's just about time you all went home. This has been a terrible war, but rest easy, knowing that it's all over" she finished, her face relaxing a bit.

The words hit Vance like a truck; it was over, he was going home for good.

The prophet began glowing, and a portal appeared behind her.

"Remember, I'm only a dreamless sleep away. Take care, heroes" she said, finality in her tone. She glowed brightly white, then disappeared, leaving only the portal open before them.

"Come on guys," Vance said, lighting another cigarette, "Let's go home" he said.

They all stepped through the veil and disappeared in a flash of light.

They appeared in front of Joe's old house, but everything looked as it had years and years ago. The sky was a deep, rich blue, birds fluttering all around. People walked down the streets, going amongst their old business. No screams could be heard, no destroyed buildings, no demons; nothing. Everything was back to normal.

"I wonder if any of the people remember what happened" Hector said.

"I would think that there's something in the back of their minds that remembers it, but they suppress it, trying not to remember it. It'll be in the history books for sure, though" Vance said, sheathing his sword for the last time.

Joe took Lyn's hand and they walked into the house together. The others slowly dispersed, leaving Vance, Erk, Sain, Anna, and Kristine standing alone by the tree out front.

"It's over guys, we won" Vance said. A tear trickled down Kristine's cheek, a tear of joy. They all approached the house.

"You guys know you're not _all _staying here now, right?" Vance joked. They laughed as he opened the door and they filed in. He stood on the porch a moment longer, looking out into the sky.

He could have sworn one of the clouds looked like his mom, smiling down on him. Satan was back in Hell, Jacob was dead, his father's soul was at rest, and all was good in the world again.

'_Time to bury the equipment and start my life..._' Vance thought to himself. He turned and walked inside, closing the door softly behind him.

Not that he could see, but his eyes were now a shade of green instead of blue, a combination of the two souls now at battle inside him.

_**The End.**_


End file.
